Pharma & Biotech Mergers & Acquisitions News
Pharmaceutical
Big pharmas are not deterred by China’s increasingly complex business environment. Instead, they are changing strategies to minimize risks while continuing to benefit from China, said speakers at ChinaTrials held last week in Shanghai. 18 November 2024
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Pharmaceutical
The Netherlands Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (Ministerie van Volkgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport) says that, as of February 15, it has started the sale of the production activities of the Nederlands Vaccin Instituut (NVI). 16 February 2011
Pharmaceutical
French drug major Sanofi-Aventis (Euronext: SAN) has entered into a research and licensing option agreement with Toronto, Canada-based Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre for vasculotide, an investigational compound to treat chronic wounds developed by senior scientists at the hospital. This includes neuropathic diabetic foot ulcers caused by a lack of sensation and neuropathic ulcers that are complicated by peripheral arterial disease, commonly called neuroischemic diabetic foot ulcers. 16 February 2011
Pharmaceutical
San Diego, USA-based ADVENTRX Pharmaceuticals (NYSE Amex: ANX) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held biotech firm SynthRx, a company developing a purified form of a rheologic and antithrombotic agent, poloxamer 188 (188). 15 February 2011
Biotechnology
US biotech BioTime (NYSE Amex: BTX), a company that develops and markets products in the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine, says it has signed a definitive agreement to merge Utah-based Glycosan BioSystems) with its wholly-owned subsidiary, OrthoCyte. The acquisition is expected to close by March 18, 2011. 15 February 2011
Pharmaceutical
With the aim of expanding its production portfolio and competitive position, Chinese drugmaker Fosun Pharmaceutical has bought a 75% stake in Dalian Aleph Biomedical, a vaccine maker, at a price reported to be 675 million renminbi ($102.4 million). Aleph's main product is an inactivated split flu vaccine. 15 February 2011
Pharmaceutical
The boards of Godalming-based Sinclair Pharma (LSE: SPH) and Chester-based IS Pharma (LSE: ISPH) revealed this morning that they are in advanced discussions regarding a possible merger to create Sinclair IS Pharma, a fully integrated pan-European specialty pharmaceutical company. 14 February 2011
Pharmaceutical
New Jersey, USA-based Protect Pharmaceutical Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: PRTT) says that it has completed the sale of two patents and patents-applications to privately-held Grunenthal GmbH, a German specialty pharmaceutical company focussing on pain drug discovery and research. 10 February 2011
Pharmaceutical
US drug behemoth Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Danish firm Ferrosan's consumer health care business, which includes dietary supplements and lifestyle products, from private equity fund Altor 2003. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 8 February 2011
Biotechnology
The biotechnology industry in the USA opened the New Year quietly with the Burrill Biotech Select Index up marginally for January at 0.3%. Meanwhile, the capital markets recorded their strongest January in years. The Dow Jones Industrial average closed the month with a 2.7% gain and the Nasdaq Composite index closed up 1.8%. 8 February 2011
Biotechnology
Switzerland based Actelion (SIX: ATLN), Europe largest biotech company, went on the defensive last Friday after one of its investors, Elliot Associates hedge fund, sent a letter to the firm's directors (which came into the public domain), saying that chairman Robert Cawthorn should resign and the chief executive Jean-Paul Clozel should step down from the board, and calling for the formation of a strategic committee to explore the company's options on rumored takeover approaches. 7 February 2011
Biotechnology
Japan's leading diversified materials manufacturer, Nitto Denko Corp (TYO: 6988), last week announced that it has acquired privately-owned Avecia Biotechnology through Nitto Americas, a wholly owned subsidiary in Teaneck, New Jersey. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 7 February 2011
Pharmaceutical
Fast growing independent Swiss drugmaker Nycomed says that it is expanding its presence in Latin America through the purchase of Laboratorios Farmacol SA, a Colombia based, family-owned pharmaceutical company, which has a strong presence in the areas of gastroenterology, respiratory and gynecology. The company declined The Pharma Letter's request to reveal financial terms of the deal, but said it is subject to regulatory approval but is expected to close in the second quarter of this year. 4 February 2011
Pharmaceutical
Canada-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (NYSE: VRX; TSX: VRX) says that its subsidiary, Biovail Laboratories International has signed agreements to acquire all US and Canadian rights to non-ophthalmic topical formulations of the anti-viral Zovirax (acyclovir) from UK drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) for $300 million. 4 February 2011
Pharmaceutical
UK pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) this week said that it has sold its entire holding of 30,755,151 shares of common stock in Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), around 16.5% of the company, via a secondary public offering by GSK and an accompanying repurchase of shares by Quest. GSK originally acquired the shareholding - 29% - as partial consideration for the sale of its clinical laboratories business in 1999 and has since gradually reduced its stake in this business in stages. 3 February 2011
Generics
Canada-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (NYSE: VRX; TSX: VRX) has signed a binding agreement to acquire PharmaSwiss, a privately-owned branded generics and over-the-counter (OTC) drugmaker based in Zug, Switzerland for 350 million euros ($480.6 million). 2 February 2011
Biotechnology
Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ALXN) says that it has acquired 100% of Taligen Therapeutics, a fellow USA-based privately held development-stage biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for an upfront cash payment of $111 million. Additional contingent payments would be earned upon reaching various clinical efficacy and product approval milestones in both the USA and European Union for up to six products. 2 February 2011
Pharmaceutical
Swiss pharma group Helsinn Healthcare has entered into a strategic alliance with UK-based IS Pharma to develop their businesses in the field of cancer and supportive care. The alliance will contribute in three areas: 2 February 2011
Biotechnology
More than five months into ongoing attempts to acquire US biotech firm Genzyme (Nasdaq: GENZ), French drug major Sanofi-Aventis (Euronext: SAN) has progressed to the point where Genzyme's board has authorized the company to enter into a confidentiality agreement in order to allow Sanofi to conduct due diligence. 1 February 2011
Pharmaceutical
Pfizer lures GSK exec to head medicines development unit; completes tender offer for King Pharma
February 1, 2011
The world's largest drugmaker, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) revealed that, effective yesterday, Yvonne Greenstreet has become senior vice president and head of medicines development for the firm's Specialty Care Business Unit, replacing Michael Berelowitz, who is retiring after a 14-year career at Pfizer. She will report directly to Geno Germano, president and general manager of this business unit and join his leadership team
Dr Greenstreet joins Pfizer after an 18-year career with UK pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK), where she most recently was senior VP and chief of strategy, R&D. Her work spans the R&D continuum, including clinical development, medical affairs, health economics, outcomes research, regulatory affairs and portfolio management. At GSK, she was responsible for leading the development of small molecules and biologics in several therapeutic areas, including musculoskeletal, immunology/inflammation, gastrointestinal, urology, ophthalmology and anti-infectives. She had also been responsible for clinical development and medical affairs for GSK's European business.
Before joining GSK, Dr Greenstreet practiced medicine in the UK National Health Service and gained experience in medicine at a number of leading teaching hospitals in London. She holds a degree in medicine from the University of Leeds, UK, and an MBA from INSEAD, Fountainbleau, France.
Hopes to complete $3.6 billion King buy before end of the month
Pfizer also announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Parker Tennessee, has accepted for purchase all of the shares validly tendered and not validly withdrawn pursuant to its tender offer for all outstanding shares of common stock of King Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: KG) at a purchase price of $14.25 per share, or a total of $3.6 billion, in a deal commenced last year (The Pharma Letter October 13, 2010).
Pfizer intends to complete the acquisition of King through a short-form merger under Tennessee law on or about February 28, without a vote of the remaining shareholders of King. Upon completion of the merger, King will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pfizer and King's common stock will cease to be traded on the NYSE. In accordance with the terms of the merger agreement, individuals designated by Pfizer will constitute a majority of the King board of directors. 1 February 2011
Pharmaceutical
US drugmaker Ligand Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: LGND) has acquired privately-held CyDex Pharmaceuticals for a combination of cash and contingent payments, with $31.2 million in upfront cash and a $4.3 million cash payment on the one year anniversary of closing. 28 January 2011
Pharmaceutical
Swiss pharma giant Novartis today announced an upgrade to its mid-term guidance, in advance of its Meet Novartis Management event for investors and analysts in London. 21 November 2024
Biotechnology
Aizen Therapeutics, an AI-driven biotech headquartered in San Diego, has officially launched from stealth mode, introducing its drug discovery platform, DaX. 21 November 2024
Biotechnology
Massachusetts, USA-based firm VBI Vaccines has initiated a nationwide voluntary recall of PreHevbrio (hepatitis B vaccine), as it proceeds with bankruptcy and the shutdown of its operations. 19 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
Big pharmas are not deterred by China’s increasingly complex business environment. Instead, they are changing strategies to minimize risks while continuing to benefit from China, said speakers at ChinaTrials held last week in Shanghai. 18 November 2024
Biotechnology
Last week saw US pharma major AbbVie release disappointing Phase II trial results on its emraclidine in schizophrenia, which benefited Bristol Myers Squibb. Also on the research front, Germany’s Merck KGaA and Abbisko’s pimicotinib showed positive results in tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT). M&A news saw German BioNTech punting $800 million upfront to acquire China based oncology focused Biotheus. Also of note, US drugmaker Halozyme Therapeutics made an unsolicited takeover bid for Evotec, valuing the German firm, at around 2 billion euros. 17 November 2024
Biosimilars
South Korean biosimilars company Celltrion today announced its acquisition of iQone Healthcare Switzerland a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on distribution, sales, and marketing in Switzerland. 15 November 2024
Biotechnology
Shares of German drug discovery company Evotec leapt 20% to 10.33 euros this morning on the revelation that the USA’s Halozyme Therapeutics has submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire Evotec for 11.00 euros per share in cash, implying a fully-diluted equity value of around 2.0 billion euros ($2.12 billion). 15 November 2024
Biotechnology
BeiGene has announced plans to rebrand as BeOne Medicines, a move the cancer specialist says reflects its commitment to fighting cancer through collaboration. 15 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
Life science investor Syncona has announced the launch of its newest portfolio company, Slingshot Therapeutics, through the Syncona Accelerator initiative. 14 November 2024
Biotechnology
Although it is seeing a downturn in sales and profits, German biotech BioNTech is continuing to acquire assets with the cash pile it made through the covid pandemic, notably iis Comirnaty vaccine that was developed with Pfizer (NYSE: PFE). 13 November 2024
Biotechnology
Trace Neuroscience, a newly launched biopharma based in San Francisco, aims to advance treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, starting with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). 12 November 2024
Biotechnology
AlloVir has entered into a definitive agreement to merge with biopharma company Kalaris Therapeutics. 8 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
European regulators will decide by December 6 whether Novo Holdings, the controlling shareholder of Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk, can finalize its $16.5 billion acquisition of contract drug manufacturer Catalent. 5 November 2024
Biotechnology
California, USA-based biotech Nektar Therapeutics’ shares closed up more than 8% at $1.33 yesterday after it announced the sale of its only manufacturing facility. 5 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
Pharmaceutical M&A came back with a bang during October, after a quiet September. 5 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
US pharma major AbbVie last week proposed $1.4 billion acquisition of US CNS drug developer Aliada Therapeutics. Last week saw a bunch of third quarter 2024 financials results, among which were Elil Lilly, AbbVie and Merck & Co. Also of note, Lexicon’s type I diabetes drug Zynquista faced a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee review that resulted in largely negative vote against recommendation. 3 November 2024
Biotechnology
Maryland, USA–based glycobiology specialist GlycoMimetics has entered into an acquisition agreement with Crescent Biopharma, a privately held biotechnology company advancing a pipeline of oncology therapeutics designed to treat solid tumors. 30 October 2024
Biotechnology
German drugmaker Dr Falk Pharma GmbH today announced completion of the acquisition of Kynos Therapeutics, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development of novel KMO inhibitors for acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. 29 October 2024
Biotechnology
US Pharma major AbbVie has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Aliada Therapeutics, a biotech advancing therapies using a novel blood-brain barrier (BBB)-crossing technology to address challenging central nervous system (CNS) diseases. 29 October 2024
Biotechnology
Ottimo Pharma, a biotech founded by Medicxi in 2020, has emerged from stealth mode with an executive team packed with prominent industry leaders. 28 October 2024
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