Johnson & Johnson has bowed out of a potential merger with Actelion, opening up the field for an unconfirmed contender widely believed to be French drugmaker Sanofi.
The US healthcare giant confirmed that it has withdrawn from discussions over a potential takeover, which would have bolstered its lung disease offering with Actelion’s pulmonary arterial hypertension portfolio.
The firm did not give a detailed reason for the move, saying only that it had not been able to reach an agreement that would create adequate value for its shareholders.
But Reuters has cited people close to the situation saying that the Swiss biotech told J&J that it could attract an offer significantly above the approximate 250 Swiss francs per share (reportedly around $27 billion) it had laid on the table, and that there were issues over the deal structure.
Actelion confirmed that it is “engaged in discussions with another party regarding a possible strategic transaction,” but stressed that “there can be no certainty at this point that any transaction will result”.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that this party is Sanofi, also citing people close to the situation.
By Selina McKee
Source: Pharma Times
Airnov provides critical healthcare industries with high-quality, controlled atmosphere packaging, to protect their products from moisture and oxygen. The business has manufacturing facilities in the USA, France, China and India and employs around 700 people.
Takeda of Japan has partnered with Hong Kong-based Hutchmed, gaining the commercial rights to colorectal cancer drug fruquintinib outside of China for $400 million up front, plus $730 million in potential milestone payments. Takeda also will help develop fruquintinib, which can be applied to subtypes of refractory metastatic colorectal cancer, regardless of biomarker status, the companies said.
On April 3, Scangos, who’s been chief executive officer at Vir since the start of 2017, will hand over the reins to Marianne De Backer, Ph.D. De Backer comes over from Bayer, where she currently heads up pharmaceutical strategy, business development and licensing. Alongside her CEO appointment, De Backer is set to join Vir’s board of directors, the company said Wednesday.
