Despite reports that Pfizer is now the front-runner to snap up cancer biotech Medivation, its original suitor Sanofi is confident that its low ball $9.3 billion offer will be accepted after filing under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.
This move, which happens when a company believes it is about to subsume another company, shows Sanofi’s bullishness in getting the deal done–despite the fact that it was roundly rejected by Medivation just weeks’ ago and comes amid swirling rumors that it has opened talks with Pfizer.
Sanofi has in the past week hinted at both potentially extending its offer–but also going hostile if the Xtandi producer’s board doesn’t play ball.
In a brief statement, the French drugmaker–which is looking to beef up its relatively weak and until recently half abandoned oncology pipeline–said: “As announced on April 28, 2016, Sanofi proposed to acquire Medivation for $52.50 per share, representing an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $9.3 billion”–indicating it is not yet willing to budge on price.
Analysts have said the biotech could fetch as much as $70 a share, with Novartis, AstraZeneca and Amgen also all said to be circling.
By Ben Adams
Source: Fierce Biotech
Though Galapagos has undergone plenty of staff shake-ups and strategy revamps in recent years, the company is sticking strong to the CAR-T pivot first unveiled by CEO Paul Stoffels, M.D., following his arrival at the biotech from Johnson & Johnson in early 2022.
The new investment is expected to create more than 500 jobs and significantly strengthen France’s ability to control the production of essential medicines from start to finish, the company stated. According to Sanofi, this plan increases the amount Sanofi has committed to major projects in France since the Covid-19 pandemic to over €3.5 billion.
A tough biotech funding environment and a downturn in COVID-related contracts has weighed heavily on CDMOs of all stripes in recent years. Now, with a new CEO waiting in the wings, Swiss manufacturing juggernaut Lonza is attempting to reassure the market that an industry stabilization is on the horizon.
