Norway Drugmaker Turns Oil Trader And Quickly Loses Millions

  • Vistin Pharma has $12 million in losses on fuel derivatives
  • Head of trading and former oil analyst Kjus resigned last week
Photographer: Ali Mohammadi/Bloomberg
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If you’re a small drugmaker with a successful diabetes treatment, but concerned you lack scale in the global market, what’s your next move? Norway’s Vistin Pharma ASA decided to hire an oil-market analyst and place large bets on the price of shipping fuels.

It didn’t work out terribly well.