French pharmaceutical company Sanofi is in talks with Swiss drugmaker Actelion, but a deal is not imminent, sources confirmed to CNBC on Wednesday.
U.S. shares of Actelion and Sanofi were down 9 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively, on Wednesday.
It’s unclear what price Sanofi might pay or what structure is envisioned, but the deal could value Actelion as much as $30 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the talks and cited people familiar with the matter.
On Tuesday, Johnson & Johnson ended its discussions with Actelion regarding a possible transaction. Actelion told J&J it was confident it could attract a higher offer than the 250 Swiss francs per share the U.S. company had offered, Reuters reported.
In August, Sanofi, eager for deals to broaden its drug lineup, was trumped by Pfizer’s $14 billion bid for U.S. cancer drug company Medivation.
Source: CNBC
Giovanni Caforio, the former CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb, is set to become the next board chairman of Novartis, which on Tuesday proposed the pharmaceutical industry veteran as its pick to replace Joerg Reinhardt in the role next year. Reinhardt has served as Novartis’ chair since 2013 and plans to retire when his 12-year term ends in 2025.
GE HealthCare has raised the curtain on two ultrasound systems equipped with artificial intelligence programs designed to assist in diagnosing conditions in women’s health, including obstetric exams. The Voluson Signature 20 and 18 imaging systems include AI tools capable of automatically identifying and annotating measurements of fetal anatomy.
Scientists from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Chemistry have revealed a new sustainable method of manufacturing complex molecules that could reduce waste produced during drug production. The method published in Nature Chemistry could help to prevent severe side effects caused by drugs that can exist as enantiomers.
