. >> announcer this is "nightly business report with tyler mathisen and sue herera. big prize form pfizer beat out its rival to buy the maker of a blockbuster cancer drug and is pay ago big premium. taking aim. two senators want to know while the price of epi-pens have shot higher. a ceo from the dot-com days is returning to the u.s. after being indicted a decade ago. those story and more on "nightly business r for monday, august 22nd. pfizer won the bidding war. the largest u.s. drug maker is buyi ingg medivation.

sanofi made an overture, and have astrazeneca, celgene and gilead, but it was pfizer's $14 billion that won out. sending shares up almost 20%. shares of pfizer fell slightly. meg tirrell tells us why medivation was so sought after. >> reporter: a $14 billion deal phaser beat our rivals to win in an all-cash deal that capped a month-long process. with it pfizer gained the prostate cancer drug this draws more than $2 billion in retch, proceeds that are split with the partner. and it gains two experimental drugs for cancer, building up a growing fo global spending on cancer medicines reached $107 billion

last year, and is expected to top $150 billion by 2020. pfizer and other drug makers have made it a priority which has put biotech companies in the cross hairs for acquisition. investor whose e-squared asset management says that the drug jipt should do more deals to gain an even bigger presence in important areas, including immu investors rejoiced at the deal as well as the premium paid. it was 20% more than the closing share price friday, but almost $5 billion more than sanofi originally offer in april. he analysts cited insight which focuses on cancer drugs, vertex, which works on cystic phi browse, and biomarin, which is developing drugs for rare diseases as potential targets. the year for biotechnology

stocks has been rocky. but investors like frontliner say they see also the government can do to tamp down on rising cancer drug prices, making a $14 billion bet like this one less risky. for "nightly business report" milen pharmaceuticals are being targeted by some high-level senators. republican chuck grassley of iowa asked for information on the rapiding in in the cost of its epi pens which he says could limit access to the medication. a a amy klobuchar call for a hear. ists well above $500 for retail today. the company made report think $1.2 billion in profits just

last year. the company in response to a report, said they have changed over time and the value the product provides. here to talk more about this big jump in cost is davis maris, a senior analyst at wells faro securities. the stock was down significantly today, as the reports on this price increase have spread. two questions here. the company says they have invested a lot in these devices. have they? is the product materially different than it was in 2008? is it if any sense justified to charge what they are today. >> since 2013, the price has doubled, thereabouts. it's still epinephrine in a syringe, and still changes people's lives. i don't know how much it's changed, about you to double it

seem a lot. >> to be, i carrying them for my children, and i have not seen any change in design since i've been carrying them, but what type of ins are we talking aboutsh and how often? >> so it's changed over time. you know, sometimes it's 15%, sometimes it's 10% twice a year. for the last couple years it's been 15% price increases twice a year. in 2013, in around november of 2013, so very late, it was $300. now it's $600. >> i read that the actual cost of the medication in each one of these is something like $1. it's just generic epinephrine. you're paying for the delivery device. >> i don't know what you're paying for, but it's single dollars, have i inexpensive and shouldn't cost $600 a tube. >> what happens next? obviously senator grassley wants to hold some hearings and find out more information about this,

but this is not the first time we have seen companies be scrutinized for dramatic price increases. milen's stock fell on the news. could it be hurt more? >> what we saw with valeant their stock went down, so it could be a vulnerability. what are senators going to do? are they going to talk the talk? or are they going to actually do something this time? >> what about the fda? they've had a generic that's out there, but they have failed to move on it. might this nudge them, do you think? >> we don't have any transparency on that. the fda should come clean on what's been holding up a generic. the product doesn't have a patent, so testifia farm suit occasion that filed for the generic, they have been turned down a couple times, so what's

the delay? >> so does milen set the retail price of this medication? in other words what i would pay at a cvs or walgreen's? and what percentage of the mime who need it like sue pay that full retail price? >> we don't have data on that, but based on their disclosures, the profitability of the product has gone up in the last couple years. they might say they're investing a lot, but based on the disclosures it looks like they're making more money, about 60 cents of every dollar worth of sales they make in operating profit. >> thank you david, very much. another major health concern is zika. an official from the national institute of health says the virus would spread to texas and louisiana next, because they are some semitropical regions, and louisiana is specially vulnerable because of the

standing water from the flooreding. president obama will head to louisiana tomorrow to survey the damage from the catastrophic flooding. it's being called the worst natural disasters in this country since hurricane sandy. while the human toll is immesh rabbit, the financial toll is just starting to be tallied. morgan brennan has our report. >> it's now being called the great flood of 2016. to referenceal rains caused flooding in pa many areas were submerged with at least 13 people dead and tens of thousands more displaced. only some of them had flood insurance. >> there were 25,500 claims filed so far. they expect that number to rise, though we don't expect the number of claims in this case to be as historic as they were after sandy or katrina, which were in the 40 and 50,000 rain claim numbers. >> yet more than 100,000 people have filed for assist card to

the fema. fema says it would cap grants at $33,000. while more than 40% of homes have flood insurance, making it the third largest mark in the usa, many affected homes were not in high-risk zone there are not required to have the supplemental cover 50% in the harders hit parishes actually had it. >> if you have a federally backed mortgage and you're in what they call the 100-year flood zone or you're in a floodplain that you're required to buy the flood insurance. what people don't realize is just because you're not required to buy it doesn't mean you don't have flood risk, as many people unfortunately are finding out. >> but the financial effects go beyond housing as well. many local businesses sustained damages. farmers are worried about the rice crop, which is ready for harvest.

for "nightly business report", i'm morgan brennan. stocks started the week mostly lower this as investors look to janet yellen's speech a bit later this week. today the dow jones industrial e felt 23 points to 18,529. the nasdaq added six, and the s&p 500 was off one. ahead of chair yellen's speech on friday, the federal reserve as vice chair says the u.s. economy is already close to meeting the central banks' targets. stanley fisher this weekend set he expected growth to pick up some interpreted the upbeat assessment might mean an interest rate hike could be coming sometimes later this year. the central bank meets next month. investor ares are putting more money into stock funds. mafrl lynch shows inflowing into equity funds are at the highest level this year, but investors continue to favor passive or

index investments. mike san tolli explains why and what it might say about market sent >> investors are trying to beat the stock market. a long-running rush of money has accelerated this year. the so-called passive funds simply seek to map the overall market perform xwrans. more than $900 billion flowed in, including exchange-traded ve on the losing end, actively managed stock funds, which a manager trying to pi stock to outperform an index. these funds have shift more than 200 billion this year. the virtues of index funds are well known. they deliver brought market exposure. their appeal has grown in part as investors focus more on just how hard it is to it -- now, of course, indexing also becomes

fashionable after a bull market has rogd as of current one haz, and the popularity has often peaked just as stock picker start to mound a cup democrat back. some suggests we might be reaches that point right now. so does it mean more opportunity for active managers to find those attractive stocks? programs. in the past few months, the average stock in the s&p 500 has been outperforming the overall index. that's a small hint that stock pickers are having it a bit easier, but active fund manager start with a handicap of higher fees and larger kaed my -- stock pickers will have to go on a convincing winning streak if they hope to turn the tide against the official mechanic hall index funds. for "nightly business report", i'm mike san tolle tess stock exchange. still ahead, one of the last cases of the dot-com era may

finally be headed to a a blast from the past. kobe alexander who founded comv technology, then moved to africa just before being ed for securities fraud, has agreed to come back to the u.s. and face the music. scott cohn broke the story earlier today with our report today. >> repor it's one of the last remaining criminal cases, and maybe the most colorful. jacob kobi alexander helped invent voicemail, but the feds say he masterminded a 15-year

scheme to manipulate the stock price. cheating, he moved to namibia, which would no extradition treaty. mont, we tracked him down. will you go back to the states to clear your name? he was already well established by then, and contributing lavishly by their stids, building affordable housing, donating to education, all too transparent charged his critics in the u.s. >> it looks like he's trying to influence the politics. >> reporter: his attorneys flatly denied that even as extradition proceedings dragged on. he established soup kitchen that is reportedly feed hundreds of children aa day. he sentenced every lawsuit including wub by his own company, agreeing to pay $53 million, but the criminal case would be more complicated.

previously charged with pa felony counts, alexander, who is now 64. will plead guilty to a single count of security fraud this week. his attorney says even though alexander is leaving namibia, he and his family will continue hair charitable work there. even though he fought extradition for years, the u.s. government never formally declared him a fugitive. that is in part because he moved to africa before he was indicted. that may have created just enough room to cut a deal and bring this case and maybe a whole era to end once and for all. scott cohn, "nightly business report", mountainview, california. to read more, head to our website nbr.com. u.s. regulators gin kem china the green light. it said a u.s. national security committee has approved the

company's proposed takeover of the swiss seed maker. despite this latest approval, the 43 billion proposed acquisition still faces scrutiny from many regulators around the world. sin genta airs pops nonetheless on the news. the drug maker says that paul henredine will replace rossross l ross valeant shares rose more tn 8.5% to 3127. intersill is reportedly in talks to be sold. according to reuters, the chip maker may soon be bought for $3 billion. any deal could be reached as early this month. the shares surged more than 19%. a potential board shake-up at

williams companies. hedge fund core vex management founder keith meister said he will nominate ten candidates to replace the current board of directors. meister said he will initially nominate ten core vix employ crease. shares ny 1% to 2743. steve wynn is rolling the dice on macau, the most expensive property in the only part of china where gambling is legal. as susan lee reports, it comes as the world's biggest casino markets remains in the grips of slump. >> >> reporter: a founding show, $200 million in art and chinese antiques, op ulent showmanship, he brings all that in spades to his new wynn palace the times

may be you tough, though. >> we're going to have to wait to what usually happens. the market grows or it does. if it doesn't the market share shifts to the newer, more beautiful buildings that resonate with public tate. >> reporter: the new casino is wynn doubling down. the problem is they're not going to macawmacau, scared away by cs crackdown. and the win was only given 150 new tables, which is the lowest for a casino of this size and cost. the good news is they'll be able to move 200 tables from the other casinos into the palace. the more tables you have, the more money you make.

however if he he takes business away from his other reports. numb rules analysts still remain bullish. >> i think what people have to remember, he creates a product that people watch to go to. we found that 26% of chinese gamblers are going to return to their marketing game able more once wynn palace opens. >> reporter: macau may be hitting bottom seeing bottoms in august, possibly september. and as the saying goes, the house always wins. for the wynn palace it might take longer for "nightly business report", i'm susan lee. coming up, big budget bust. why this summer's anything but hot for holl ♪

the olympic swimmer ryan lochte has lost four of his sponsors. man, was that quick. the decisions follow a drunken incident during the rio games that he first described as an armed robbery. we know better now. speedo plans to donate 50 grand of his fee for feedy children in brazil. hollywood's attempt at a big blockbuster went bust. "ben-hur" had the worst opening. and as julia reports, they're at the center of the viacom mess. >> the $11 million gross was even worse than low expectations. bad news for paramount and mgm

to produce the film and more to market it. it pushes viacom's paramount further into the loser category analysts michael nathanson calls paramount's problems truly shocking saying the studio may lose $350 some ilon. more bad news for parent company viacom. >> you're having a volume atill boardroom that probably you don't have the big budget leadership that maybe bob eyers has had. >> this year we're seeing the biggest gap between studio leaders and lag guards. paramount and sony just have 7% box office market share, compared to disney's 27%. disappointment from paramount and sony dragging the summer box office beloaned last years i. while year date it's up 5%. blockbusters are los

concentrated in the summer and others outperf this winter. >> we're talking about a year-round release sche when big movies can come out, or in march. >> plus there's sequel and remake fatigue. with 17 this summer, and 13 the year before, according to comp score. with more new original content available to stream on netflix and amazon, the bar is higher than ever while talk of a bad movie spreads like wildfire on social media. so negative reviews like ben-hur's 20% rotten tomatoes rating can really sting. i'm julia boorstin in los angeles. finally tonight, the most expensive car auction of the year wrapped up last night at pebble beach. we told you friday that there were questions about the strength of the market for classic cars. tonight robert frank has some of the numbers that show it is losing speed

>> reporter: sales fell for the second year in a row offering the latest sign that classic car prices may be stalling out. toe sales totalling $345 million is down from last year and 2014. nearly half the cars failed to sell, but despite the overall sales decline, the rarest most expensive masterpiece cars continues to said the record. the top seller was this 1955 jaguar d-type roadster sold for nearly $22 million. it became the most expensive british car ever sold at auction. a record was set, the first ever shelby cobra from 1962 selling for almost $14 million. newer cars fareed poorly over

the weekend, but the ferraris did well, with the red one at 3.5 million, the black one for roughly 5.2 million, three times the original sales price just two years ago. not bad for a used card. for "nightly business report", i'm robert frank. that's does it for "nightly business rep too many. i'm sue her area. this is the time of your your public television station seeks your support and i'm tyler math we appreciate your support. have a great evening. we'll see you back her

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