Neurology-focused Biogen and UCB are already rumored to be eyeing an Acorda buyout. But one analyst thinks a host of other major players could join their ranks.
The way Jefferies’ Michael Yee sees it, AbbVie, Allergan, Roche, Shire and Mitsubishi could all get in on the deal action thanks to their neurology infrastructure, Parkinson’s drugs that could complement Acorda candidate Inbrija, or both, he wrote in a Thursday note to clients. He expects Acorda to fetch $2 billion or more in a sale.
Inbrija, which Yee expects will win an FDA OK late this year, “is an attractive asset that could be easily integrated by several neurology companies,” he wrote, adding that he forecasts $300 million to $500 million for the product.
Of course, that’s assuming the FDA accepts Acorda’s application, but the company’s leaders appear “confident that NDA acceptance of the Inbrija package should occur any day now,” Yee wrote.
Activist hedge fund Scopia Capital Management, for one, shares Yee’s view that several biopharma players could end up on Acorda’s list of suitors. Back in August, it wrote to Acorda’s board that “we are highly confident that multiple qualified, potential buyers would be interested in engaging with Acorda,” while piling on the pressure to sell.
Acorda has apparently taken Scopia’s advice to heart. The company, which is scrambling to win an Inbrija thumbs up before knockoffs move in on key multiple sclerosis therapy Ampyra, has tapped Centerview Partners and MTS Health Partners to help it explore a sale, The Wall Street Journal reported last month.
By Carly Helfand
Source: Fierce Pharma
The Food and Drug Administration’s top scientist Namandjé Bumpus will assume the role of principal deputy commissioner when longtime agency leader Janet Woodcock retires from that role in early 2024, according to an announcement Thursday.
US biopharma AbbVie has agreed to acquire ImmunoGen in a deal which values the company at about $10.1 billion and gives AbbVie access to flagship cancer therapy Elahere (mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx), a first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) approved for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (PROC), as well as a pipeline of promising next-generation ADCs.
EUROAPI today announced the appointment of David Seignolle as Chief Operating Officer, succeeding Eric Berger, and Marion Santin as Chief Legal, Compliance, and IP Officer, both joining the company’s Executive Committee. In his new role, David Seignolle will lead the transformation of the Industrial Operations organization.