Posted on October 1, 2009 at 2:06 PM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Case Studies | Growth Strategy | Trends
Tagged: Chris Viehbacher , Fovea , Merrimack Pharmaceuticals , Regeneron , Sanofi-Aventis

[ Share ]  [ E-mail ]  [ Leave a Comment ]

Our oncology M&A list keeps growing. Sanofi-Aventis SA (NYSE:SNY), which is already on it, is acquiring the rights to sell an experimental cancer treatment developed by Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc. for up to $530 million. The Deal Pipeline (subscription required) has details on the transaction.

The Merrimack deal comes after a setback where Sanofi and its partner Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:REGN) stopped a late-stage study of a cancer drug candidate because it wasn't working much better than a placebo. Needham & Co. LLC senior biotech analyst Mark Monane recently listed Regeneron and fellow late-stage oncology company Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN) as likely acquisition targets.

Sanofi CEO Chris Viehbacher has been on an acquisition tear, creating plenty of work for strategy chief Laurence Debroux. Rather than go the megamerger route, Sanofi is seeking smaller deals. Along with the Merrimack announcement, The Deal Pipeline shows Sanofi also acquired eye specialist Fovea Pharmaceuticals SA for €370 million ($541 million). In July Sanofi announced a $4 billion deal to buy the 50% it didn't already own of Merial Ltd., an animal healthcare JV it owned with Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK). And just before that deal, Sanofi paid $611 million to take control of Indian vaccine maker Shantha Biotechnics Ltd.

We have a list of Sanofi's other deals here.

We also have a list of likely targets in the broader pharma sector with Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) naming Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXN) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTX) as targets with the most merit. - Baz Hiralal

Keep an eye on oncology deals, too
Sanofi-Aventis takes axe to pipeline, M&A persists
Sanofi's dealmaker gets even more work

Also see: Oncology M&A could save lives



Join Corporate Dealmaker's LinkedIn forum

Also From Corporate Dealmaker

• Deal Economy 2010: Cisco's Hooper on Tandberg pursuit
• Deal Economy 2010: IBM's Mendoza on IT services M&A
• Next up on mobile ad acquisitions
• Deal Economy 2010: GE's O'Brien on M&A strategy
• Medtronic earnings reflect strategic maneuvering

Corporate Dealmaker Home Page

From TheDeal.com

• Deal Economy 2010: IBM's Mendoza on IT services M&A
• Deal Stocks: GOOG, BMO, C, PLA, GE, FIF, PBCT
• Joost assets quietly sold to Adconion
• Deal Economy 2010: Streambank's Fried on IP valuations
• Green Mountain raises Diedrich bid

TheDeal.com Home

Post a comment

Name:

Email Address:

URL:

Remember personal info?

Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)

Please only click "Post" once. It may take a few moments to process.