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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Generics
Confirming both the drug major's diversification strategy and recent rumors of an acquisition in the Japanese generics market, France's Sanofi-Aventis this morning revealed that it has entered into an agreement with Nichi-Iko Pharmaceuticals to establish a new joint venture, called sanofi-aventis Nichi-Iko KK, in order to develop a generic business in Japan. 28 May 2010
Generics
Amid concerns about its domestic pharmaceutical companies selling out to foreign groups - the latest being Piramal to USA health care giant Abbott Laboratories (The Pharma Letter May 21) - India's Ministry of Health is planning to call a meeting of drug industry executives on the matter, reports PharmaBiz. 28 May 2010
Pharmaceutical
Acquisitive California, USA-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International says that, effective May 26, the company completed its previously-announced purchase of Aton Pharma, a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on ophthalmology and certain orphan drug indications, located in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, for approximately $318 million. 28 May 2010
Generics
Shortly after troubled Australian drugmaker Sigma Pharmaceuticals revealed that it had received an unsolicited takeover offer last Friday (The Pharma Letter May 21), South Africa's Aspen PharmaCare announced that it was the mystery bidder. 24 May 2010
Generics
Fooling all the speculators, US health care major Abbott Laboratories has declared its intention to acquire Indian branded generics drugmaker Piramal Healthcare's Solutions business (Domestic Formulations), for an up-front payment of $2.12 billion, plus $400 million annually for the next four years (for a total of $3.72 billion), and will result in Abbott gaining number one position in the Indian pharmaceutical market. 21 May 2010
Pharmaceutical
Australia's Sigma Pharmaceuticals has received a A$707 million ($579 million) takeover
offer, sending the share of the troubled prescription drug and over-the-counter medicines maker soaring 50%. However, Sigma did not disclose the name of the bidder in the statement and advised shareholders to take no action. 21 May 2010
Pharmaceutical
In what has been described as a landmark Latin American pharmaceutical transaction, Mexican drug wholesaler Grupo Casa Saba (GCS) has reached a definitive agreement to acquire the Chilean company Farmacias Ahumada SA in a deal valued at around $637 million, including the assumption of $162 million in estimated net debt as of March 31, 2010. 20 May 2010
Pharmaceutical
French drug major Sanofi-Aventis was in the limelight on several fronts in the last couple of days, two of which involve the company's expansion into emerging markets, notably in Poland and speculation of an acquisition in India. 19 May 2010
Biotechnology
Netherlands-based biotechnology company Pharming Group NV said yesterday that it has initiated the process to reduce its financial interest in its wholly-owned subsidiary DNage BV in order to reduce the cash need and fully focus on the commercialization of its lead product Rhucin (recombinant human C1 esterase inhibitor), which is currently being reviewed by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), with a decision expected in the third quarter of this year. 18 May 2010
Biotechnology
biotechnology firm OSI Pharmaceuticals, after more than a year of overtures. The latter had previously rejected Astellas' formal bid earlier this year, saying that the $3.5 billion ($52 per share) offer did not reflect OSI's true value, and set about finding a 'white knight' rescue, which failed to materialize (The Pharma Letters passim). 17 May 2010
Biotechnology
Australian regenerative medicine company Mesoblast says that it will acquire its US associate company, Angioblast Systems. Additionally, Mesoblast announced it has completed a capital raising of A$37 million ($30 million) to fund the purchase and advance operations of the expanded Mesoblast Group. These funds comprise A$24 million invested immediately and A$13 million committed subject to both shareholder approval and completion of the acquisition offer. 13 May 2010
Generics
Further extending its reach into emerging markets, UK drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline has entered into a strategic alliance with Dong-A Pharmaceuticals, the number one pharmaceutical and over-the-counter medicines company in South Korea. As part of the transaction, GSK will acquire a 9.9% equity shareholding in Dong-A for 73.9 million ($108.5 million). Closing of the transaction is subject to fulfilment of certain conditions as agreed between GSK and Dong-A. 12 May 2010
Pharmaceutical
Belgium's Arseus say it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the US company Gallipot, a leading supplier of raw materials for pharmaceutical compounding to pharmacies in the USA. It is anticipated that the transaction, exact financial terms of which were not disclosed, will close at the end of May 2010. 11 May 2010
Biotechnology
Troubled US biotech firm Genzyme, threatened with board changes by billionaire investor Carl Icahn, says that its board of directors has voted to pursue several actions to increase shareholder value, including the disposal of non-core businesses. 7 May 2010
Pharmaceutical
Aiming to continue its diversification, moving into new growth areas beyond pharmaceuticals and strengthening its position in urology, USA-based drugmaker Endo Pharmaceuticals revealed that it has signed an agreement to acquire HealthTronics, a US provider of urological products and services. 7 May 2010
Generics
Last week, Brazil's Supreme Court of Justice (STJ) ruled that the validity of the patent which guarantees the right of exclusivity of US drugs behemoth Pfizer for the manufacture and marketing of the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra (sildenafil) expires on June 20. 4 May 2010
Generics
In Business Monitor International's updated, second-quarter 2010 Business Environment Ratings (BER) table for the 10 major countries of the Americas, Venezuela is once again ranked the lowest, reaffirming its view that the country remains one of the most challenging pharmaceutical markets in the region. 30 April 2010
Biotechnology
The global biotechnology industry was able to weather the continued worldwide economic turmoil and deliver a strong financial performance in 2009, with the world's established biotech centers reaching profitability for the first time in history. However, the gap between the "haves" and "have nots" in the industry continued to widen in 2009, posing new challenges for emerging companies in accessing the capital needed for R&D, according to findings released by Ernst & Young in its Beyond borders: global biotechnology report 2010. 29 April 2010
Pharmaceutical
California, USA-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is on the acquisition trail again, revealing that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Valeant Canada, has signed an agreement to buy Vital Science, a leading over-the-counter (OTC) dermatology company located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for approximately C$10.5 million ($10.3 million). 29 April 2010
Pharmaceutical
The Independent Director Committee of Switzerland-based ophthalmics group Alcon yesterday reiterated its view that drug major Novartis' merger proposal to minority shareholders is grossly inadequate (The Pharma Letters passim) and applauded Alcon for once again delivering strong earnings results for its first quarter. 29 April 2010
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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