Call it a coincidence, but Biogen Idec Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB) just hired a former M&A lawyer and venture capital veteran as Bloomberg reports the firm's is
in talks to acquire Acorda Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOR) The potential deal is apparently to gain an experimental pill for patients with multiple sclerosis, something Merck KGaA and Novartis AG are trying to bring to market first.
As Cambridge, Mass.-based Biogen pursues its strategy,
in comes Michael E. Lytton (pictured) as executive vice president, business and corporate development. Since 2001, Lytton was a general partner at Oxford Bioscience Partners, a venture capital firm that provides equity financing and general management assistance to emerging life sciences companies. From 1993 to 2000, he was a partner, chairman of the technology group and a member of the executive committee of Boston law firm Palmer & Dodge LLP (now Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge).
Meanwhile, the company is dealing with activist investor Carl Icahn, who is pushing for
board seats and has
suggested a sale of the whole company. -
Baz HiralalBiogen hires LyttonSee the Acorda news
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