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The New York Times today reported that Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) will acquire Seattle, WA-based Zymogenetics for $885 million or $9.75 per share. The two companies were jointly developing new medicines to treat hepatitis C infections. The $9.75 a share in cash represents an 84 percent premium to Zymogenetics closing stock price on Tuesday.

BMS executives must believe that the jointly-developed hepatitis C product, PEG-interferon lambda will be a winner because the company is usually reluctant to pay such high premium prices for acquisitions. The new PEG-interferon lambda product will have to compete against similar products PEG-Intron (peginterferon alfa-2b, Merck) and Pegasys (peginterferon alfa-2b, Roche) in a highly competitive hepatitis C treatment market currently dominated by Roche. Also, several companies, most notably Vertex Pharmaceuticals, have orally-bioavailable small molecule hepatitis C treatments in late stage clinical development. All of the PEGylated interferons must be administered via injection.

BMS has a variety of marketed treatments for HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B infections. These products, along with its market leading anti-clotting agent Plavix (co-marketed with Sanofi-Aventis) are facing fierce generic competition in the not-to-distant future.

The company’s acquisition of Zymogenetics is another step towards transforming BMS from a small molecule pharmaceutical company into a biotechnology-focused drug maker. In addition to PEG-interferon lambda, Zymogenetics is developing protein-based treatments for surgical bleeding (recombinant human thrombin), metastatic melanoma (IL-21) and atopic dermatitis (IL-31 mAb). 

Zymogenetics was founded in 1981 and is one of Seattle’s largest independent, publicly-traded biotechnology companies. Stay tuned as more consolidation continues in the biotechnology sector.

Until next time....

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!

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The appearance of the Swine Flu aka H1N1 last spring not only created a worldwide panic, it demonstrated to Albert Osterhaus, head of virology at the Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands how uninformed the lay public was about viral outbreaks, epidemiology and public health. This prompted Dr. Osterhaus and his colleagues to create a free, online video game called the “The Great Flu” which challenges players to control a new viral pandemic.

As the virus has spread worldwide, countries have tried different methods to slow it down and pharmaceutical companies are now racing to produce a swine flu vaccine (sound familiar?). To fight the emerging outbreak, players use public health measures including setting up surveillance systems, stockpiling antivirals and vaccines, and closing schools and airports. Players also have a limited budget and are warned that "your actions to control the virus cost money, so keep an eye on it." In other words, while the goal is to control the pandemic, there may not be sufficient funds and resources to accomplish those goals!

A running tally of the numbers of people infected and those who have died are displayed above the budget. Newspaper stories about the deadly virus and the global response to it — like riots breaking out worldwide — pop up to help players monitor the outbreak and plan their next moves. Messages from governments mirror the difficulties faced by international agencies like WHO that are responsible for containing worldwide epidemics. For example, when players set up costly surveillance systems, sometimes participating governments will send a message "we will comply with your directions...but we must inform you that the political support for this action is low in this region. Therefore, the effectiveness of the system to control the outbreak may differ from your expectations."

The goal of the game is make the lay public aware of the difficulties that public health officials encounter during pandemics and the tight rope they sometimes must walk to insure that the virus is contained and doesn’t continue to spread. To test your skill level at controlling pandemics, you can choose different viruses (which range from easy to difficult to manage) at the beginning of the game.

I think “The Great Flu” is a great way to educate the public about infectious diseases and epidemiology and have fun at the same time. If you are interested in more sinister online swine flu games check this out.  Who said learning science has to be tedious and dull?

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Virus Hunting!!!!!

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