US Biotech scores wins in November, despite global economic turmoil, says Burrill

Economic and political worries in Europe and the USA fuelled another month of wild gyrations in the stock market, but biotech companies scored some notable victories with encouraging clinical developments, three drug approvals, two initial public offerings (IPOs), and news that Gilead Sciences would buy Pharmasset for $11 billion, notes global life sciences financial services firm Burrill & Co.

Gilead said it would purchase Pharmasset, a clinical-stage company developing oral therapies for the hepatitis C virus, for $137 a share in cash (The Pharma Letter November 22). That represented an 89% premium to Pharmasset’s closing price the previous trading day. The deal marries Pharmasset’s pipeline of three clinical stage HCV product candidates to Gilead’s own pipeline of seven clinical candidates and may result in new oral combination therapies for the disease.

“The acquisition could lead to therapies that transform the way HCV is treated by bringing together the promise of Pharmasset’s drugs with the depth of experience Gilead has in antiviral therapies and its own pipeline of HCV candidates,” says Steven Burrill, chief executive of Burrill & Co, adding: “Many people have questioned the viability of drug development business models, but as this transaction shows, innovative companies are still capable of creating enormous value and rewarding investors for their patience.”