Get ready to move over, Sanofi. A slew of Big Pharma rivals are reportedly weighing their own bids for buyout target Medivation.
Novartis, Pfizer and AstraZeneca are all exploring pitching a counteroffer for the San Francisco drugmaker, which Friday rejected a $9.3 billion buyout bid from the French pharma giant, Bloomberg reports. The trio is conferring with advisers about Medivation’s value, and whether and how to move forward, though there’s no guarantee they’ll come through with their own proposals.
Astellas, which markets star Medivation cancer drug Xtandi, could also jump into the mix, analysts have predicted.
Of course, Sanofi–which saw its $52.50-per-share bid snubbed–could always raise its offer. Still, despite its desire to boost its oncology portfolio, the French drugmaker is wary of overpaying, Bloomberg’s sources say. Medivation–which said the bid substantially undervalued its business–is looking for bids of at least $65 per share, the news service reports, and analysts including Leerink Partners’ Geoffrey Porges and Canaccord Genuity’s David Evanson have estimated value as high as $70.
It’s no surprise multiple drugmakers are giving Medivation a look, considering how many companies have stated a desire to expand in oncology. After last year snagging GlaxoSmithKline’s cancer drugs in a multibillion-dollar asset swap, Novartis has a big focus on the field, and Pfizer could once again be looking to bulk up its three operating units in the wake of its canceled deal with Allergan.
Meanwhile, AstraZeneca has been looking to the cancer arena to help spark the revenue turnaround CEO Pascal Soriot has been promising.
Xtandi could help any of them toward achieving their goals. The prostate cancer therapy’s sales–shared with Astellas–rang up at $1.9 billion worldwide last year, and analysts predict the med will eventually overtake first-to-market competitor pill Zytiga from Johnson & Johnson.
By Carly Helfand
Source: Fierce Pharma
CureVac and the University of Texas’s MD Anderson Cancer Center have announced a co-development and licensing agreement to develop novel messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based cancer vaccines. The strategic collaboration will focus on the development of differentiated cancer vaccine candidates in selected haematological and solid tumour indications with high unmet medical needs.
FUJIFILM Corporation is planning to invest $1.2 billion to expand the planned FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina, US. This news follows the organisation’s announcement of a $2 billion investment in the facility in March 2021. This additional financial boost totals the investment to over $3.2 billion, FUJIFILM confirmed.
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