Feb 28, 2019

Big investors line up to oppose Bristol's buyout of Celgene

Pharma giant Bristol-Myers Squibb is facing heat from hedge funds. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Hedge funds Wellington Management and Starboard Value both oppose Bristol-Myers Squibb's $74 billion takeover of Celgene. Starboard said in an open letter Thursday that "other large, long-term shareholders" likewise believe it's a bad deal.

Why it matters: Bristol-Myers CEO Giovanni Caforio said in response that buying Celgene "is the best path forward for our company." But this mega-merger has a serious chance of failing if Bristol-Myers can't assuage investors' concerns about the "massive patent cliff" from Celgene's blockbuster drug Revlimid and the strength of its development pipeline.

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U.S. coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios. This graphic includes "probable deaths" that New York City began reporting on April 14.

House Democrats asked Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue for more information Thursday on how the agency chose which companies to award $1.2 billion in food assistance contracts.

By the numbers: More than 98,400 people have died from COVID-19 and over 1.6 million have tested positive in the U.S. Over 379,100 Americans have recovered and more than 14.6 million tests have been conducted.

Go deeper (2 min. read)ArrowUpdated 7 mins ago - Health

Pentagon watchdog sidelined by Trump resigns

Fine testiying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Glenn Fine, the Pentagon's principal deputy inspector general, submitted his resignation on Tuesday.

Why it matters: President Trump removed Fine as the Pentagon's acting inspector general in April 7 after a group of independent federal watchdogs selected him to lead the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, which was set up to oversee the rollout of the $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill.

Go deeper (1 min. read)ArrowUpdated 10 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 2:30 p.m. ET: 5,547,523 — Total deaths: 348,040 — Total recoveries — 2,269,422 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 2:30 p.m. ET: 1,671,728 — Total deaths: 98,493 — Total recoveries: 379,157 — Total tested: 14,604,942 — Map.
  3. Trump administration: Mike Pence's press secretary returns to work.
  4. States: New York reports lowest number of new coronavirus deaths since March.
  5. Public health: The final data for remdesivir is in, and its benefits are rather limited.
  6. Space: How to virtually watch SpaceX's historic crewed launch.
  7. What should I do? Hydroxychloroquine questions answered — Traveling, asthma, dishes, disinfectants and being contagious — Masks, lending books and self-isolating — Exercise, laundry, what counts as soap — Pets, moving and personal health — Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — How to minimize your risk.
  8. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it, the right mask to wear.

Subscribe to Mike Allen's Axios AM to follow our coronavirus coverage each morning from your inbox.

Updated 17 mins ago - Politics & Policy