On the back of:
- Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) paying €4.5 billion ($6.6 billion) for the pharmaceutical activities of Belgium's Solvay SA;
- Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) paying €301.8 million for 18% of Dutch biotech Crucell NV; and
- Covidien plc buying brain-monitoring technology company Aspect Medical Systems Inc. for about $210 million;
our sister blog Dealscape reminds us that broad
pharma consolidation is making companies like Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXN) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTX)
likely acquisition targets. While we've tracked the biggies, we're also tracking a subsector that's been hot with dealmaking -- oncology. (There's also an animal health
M&A trend that's worth a look.)
After Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY) came away with Medarex Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDX) for $2.4 billion in July, late-stage oncology companies Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:REGN) and Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN)
started trading higher. Regeneron is still riding its July boost, while Seattle Genetics has gone even farther from trading at $10.85 in July (close to its 52-week high at the time) to recently hovering around $14.
The list of oncology deals is growing, with:
- Amgen Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AMGN) licensing deal with ImmunoGen Inc. (NASDAQ:IMGN);
- Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) making its $347 million bid for Facet Biotech Corp. (NASDAQ:FACT) public;
- GlaxoSmithKline plc's (NYSE:GSK) collaboration with U.K. biotech firm Vernalis plc;
- Celldex Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:CLDX) acquiring CuraGen Corp. (NASDAQ:CRGN) for $94.5 million;
- Johnson & Johnson acquiring Cougar Biotechnology Inc. (NASDAQ:CGRB) for about $970 million in cash;
- Exelixis
Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) selling the rights to early-stage cancer drugs to Paris'
Sanofi-Aventis SA (NYSE:SNY) in a deal that could be worth more than $1
billion;
- Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. acquiring IDM Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ:IDMI) for about $70 million;
- Novartis
AG (NYSE:NVS) using some of the $5 billion it raised in February to acquire the
generic injectables business of Austria's Ebewe Pharma GmbH for $1.3
billion, boosting its oncology portfolio; and
- Genzyme Corp. (NASDAQ:GENZ) acquired three cancer drugs from Germany's Bayer AG.
Shares of Regenron would be trading higher, but the company and its partner Sanofi-Aventis recently suffered a setback when it
stopped a late-stage study of a cancer drug candidate because it wasn't working much better than a placebo.
Seattle Genetics said it recently
reached a milestone under a collaboration with Bayer Schering Pharma AG as it submitted an application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
For those
other likely targets, a Citigroup Investment Research analyst recently upgraded Alexion to a "buy" from "hold," and Vertex seems to be
holding up well in the face of weak second-quarter numbers.
-
Baz HiralalAlso see past posts: Bayer taps outsider as CEO, deals ahead?Eli Lilly to cut 5,500 jobs, M&A strategy remainsDrug deals too pricey, says GSK execBristol-Myers maintains strategy with OTC saleThree more pharma megamergers to go?
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