Chappatte cartoon from 2009: 2010 didn't see an improvement in revenues (©2011 Chappatte, distributed by Globe Cartoon. More cartoons on Chappatte’s web site. Geneva-based Patrick Chappatte works for the International Herald Tribune, for Geneva newspaper Le Temps, and for NZZ am Sonntag. All cartoons reproduced with permission.)
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – GenevaLunch is on a slow-news holiday schedule for the next two weeks, but to make sure you don’t miss key reports we’re bringing you highlights from some of the news beats, with links to original sources:
EPFL plays key role in understanding Deepwater Horizon oil spill
EPFL is playing a key role in understanding how the properties of hydrocarbons are important in understanding the wellhead structure and pollution diffusion—how pollution spreads out—in the depths.
EPFL notes in a press release: “The main problem was the depth of the well, nearly 1,500 meters below the sea surface. It was a configuration that had never been tried before, and the pollution it unleashed after methane gas shot to the surface and ignited in a fiery explosion is also unequalled. Much research has been done since the spill on the effects on marine life at the ocean’s surface and in coastal regions. Now, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) professor Samuel Arey and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute reveal in the advance online edition of Proceedings of the national Academy of Sciences how escaped crude oil and gas behave in the deep water environment.”
Swiss pharma industry has good second quarter 2011
Novartis‘s second quarter results, announced 19 July, were strong: Net sales grew 27 percent (up 19 percent in constant currencies) to $14.9 billion. The Basel pharmaceutical company says four drugs received approvals: the US FDA approved Afinitor for advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and Arcapta Neohaler for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the European Union granted approval for Lucentis in retinal vein occlusion and for hypertension medicine Rasilamlo. The company’s shares rose 3.15 percent Tuesday as a result, reports Le Temps (registration).
Roche is buying mtm laboratories AG (mtm), a privately-held company based in Heidelberg, Germany, the Basel pharma company announced 19 July, for CHF160 million up front and another CHF90m when agreed milestones are met: “mtm is a global leader in developing in vitro diagnostics with a focus on early detection and diagnosis of cervical cancer, the largest early detection market in oncology.”
Swiss media ads down sharply in June
Advertising revenue for Swiss media continues to fall, with June income down 6.5 percent overall from a year earlier to CHF132.3 million, show figures published 19 July by Remp, the industry research arm, reported in Le Temps. Worst hit was the economic and financial press, down nearly 23 percent, with revenues of CHF3.7m. Revenues for daily papers, which account for about half of all media advertising income, was down 8.9 percent. Sunday papers were a rare exception, with revenues inching up by 2.8 percent over a year earlier, to CHF11.8m.
Internet use continues to grow, with a report in mid-July showing that 80 percent of the population surveyed using the Internet several times a week and 67 percent daily, reports Cominmag.
