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Bloomberg news today reported that Bayer AG’s Chief Executive Officer Marijn Dekkers said that he would consider a “merger of equals” to bolster the company’s sagging healthcare division. The division, a minor revenue source for Bayer AG, posted $25.1 billion in sales last year.

While Dekkers did not name the companies that he considers to be Bayer’s “equals”, convention wisdom suggests the list is likely to include Eli Lilly & Co, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) and Amgen, one of the last remaining, large, independent biotechnology companies. Lilly and BMS both  had  sales revenue similar to Bayer's last year whereas Amgen had lower sales of $15.1 billion. 

The reasons for a potential merger are not entirely clear. However, Bayer Healthcare is waiting to hear about regulatory approval of its new anticoagulant Xarelto medicine for irregular heartbeat patients who face the risk of a stroke. Analysts predict that Xarelto may exceed $2.5 billion in global sales. Approval of Xarelto will change Bayer’s valuation and consequently, don’t expect merger talks to begin until after FDA renders its decision on the drug.

Meanwhile, Bayer’s top-selling multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment betaseron faces competition from a similar Novartis drug called Extavia, and from its new oral MS medication Gilenya. Sales of betaseron fell 5 percent in the first quarter. Moreover, sales of Bayer’s birth-control pill Yaz dropped 18 percent after Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. introduced a generic version of the medicine.

Lilly, BMS and Amgen all face significant challenges in the future and both BMS and Amgen have been repeatedly mentioned as takeover targets. However, from a historical perspective mergers of mediocre or struggling companies rarely yield stronger, more financially robust ones! But, what do I know, I am just a scientist!

Stayed tuned for more updates.

Until next time...

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

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The world’s largest generic pharmaceutical company Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries LTD today announced that it has agreed to purchase Pennsylvania-based Cephalon, Inc for $6.8 billion. Teva will purchase Cephalon for $81.50 per share, a 12 percent premium to the $73-per share unsolicited offer tendered by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc, on March 29, 2011. Cephalon’s board of directors rejected Valeant’s offer on April 5, 2011.

While most of Teva’s revenue comes from the sale of prescription generic medications, the company also sells several branded pharmaceutical products including the multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone and the Parkinson’s disease Azilect. Cephalon’s best selling drugs include Provigil for narcolepsy and the cancer drug Treanda. In addition to its marketed products, the Cephalon development pipeline contains potential cancer treatments, a tamper-resistant opioid painkiller, and an asthma treatment. The Cephalon acquisition is a pivotal part of Teva's strategy of growing branded drug revenue to $9 billion by 2015.

Teva currently has about 40,000 employees worldwide while Cephalon employs 4,000 persons. It is not clear what ever the acquisition will have on job layoffs or organizational structure.

Cephalon’s stock price rose $3.25 or 4.2 percent to $80.26 after the deal was announced.

Until next time...

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Reuters reported today that Sanofi Aventis has reached an agreement in principle to purchase Genzyme for $19 billion in cash and future payments based on the performance of Lemtrada, Genzyme’s experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis.                     

The $19 billion dollar deal translates into $74 per share in cash plus a contingent value right for Lemada that Genzyme investors will receive. Interestingly, the $74 per share stock price is the original amount that Genzyme’s board asked for when the saga to purchase the company began last August. Go figure.....

The deal is the second biggest in biotech history (second to Roche’s acquisition of Genentech) two years ago. I don’t know about you but I am glad that the deal is almost done and we don’t have to hear about it anymore. That said, I hope that Sanofi gets what it paid for! And, if I were a Genzyme employee (especially Henry Termeer, Genzyme's embattled CEO) I would dust off the old resume or CV as quickly as possible. 

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!

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After seven months of public bickering over an appropriate sale price, the NY Time reports today that Sanofi Aventis may have hammered out a deal that would enable the French drug maker to acquire the world’s largest orphan drug manufacturer Genzyme for $19 billion. According to the report, Sanofi will acquire Genzyme for a $74 per share which is up from it previous offer of $69 per share.

Most analysts and the Genzyme management team felt that the previous $69 per share offer was too low and that the tipping price would be in the mid 70s. This made sense even to outsiders like me because Eli Lilly purchased ImClone, a company with only one approved product on the market, for $70 per share several years ago. Genzyme has multiple FDA-approved products with a strong late stage drug development pipeline. Not surprisingly, Sanofi tendered a low initial stock price purchase offer to give itself flexibility when it decided to enter into serious negotiations.

Despite the long drawn out and tiresome melodrama, the deal is a good one for Sanofi, a company that desperately needs to bolster its biotechnology pipeline and also for Genzyme which has been rocked by biomanufacturing and quality problems for the past couple of years.

Now that this deal is imminent, does anyone have an idea about which biotechnology company may be the next takeover target?

Until next time..

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

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After a five month-long series of  very public and often acrimonious negotiations, it appears that Sanofi-Aventis and Genzyme may be close to deal that would enable the French drug maker to acquire one of the world’s largest public biotechnology companies.

According to the NY Times and a number of life sciences blogs, both companies have agreed in principle on a framework for a takeover deal. The major sticking point in the negotiations is Sanofi’s tender offer of $69 per share of Genzyme stock. Genzyme executives and industry analysts view the offer as “too low” and believe that a stock share price in the mid-70s is more reasonable and likely in the end. Another sticking point is the success of Genzyme’s leukemia treatment Campath (alemtuzumab, which is in clinical development to treat multiple sclerosis but will be marketed under the brand name Lemtrada if approved). Genzyme believes that Campath will likely be a winner whereas Sanofi executives are not so sure. Consequently, the deal will likely include additional payments to Genzyme if the drug meets or exceeds certain sale targets for either or both indications.

Persons with knowledge of the negotiations suggest that the specifics of a deal will likely be worked out of the next week or so. This is because, on Monday, Sanofi signed a nondisclosure agreement with Genzyme to conduct due diligence for the deal. Really? What has Sanofi been doing for the past 5 months?

The Genzyme deal is critical for Sanofi which desperately needs to quickly get into the biotechnology game, particularly in the areas of oncology and neurological disorders. Last week, Sanofi’s experimental drug to treat breast cancer, iniparib failed to meet clinical endpoints in a late stage clinical trial. Also, Plavix, Sanofi’s top-selling anti-clotting drug will lose patent protection in May 2012 (FDA recently gave Sanofi an additional six months of marketing exclusivity based on a newly awarded pediatric indication). Plavix is the world’s second best selling prescription medication.

I don’t know about you, but I hope that this deal gets done soon! From the outset, it was apparent to most life sciences pundits and industry insiders that Sanofi would prevail and ultimately acquire Genzyme. Unfortunately, Genzyme’s ongoing manufacturing woes provided Sanofi with an excuse to “lowball” its initial offers. And, surprisingly, Genzyme’s management team had the chutzpah and wherewithal to push back hard.  The bottom line: it is a great deal for both companies—“Just Do It.”

Until next time...

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

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The buzz at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference that is taking place in San Francisco this week is that Sanofi-Aventis and Genzyme are close to inking a deal. As you may recall, Sanofi made an unsolicited offer last summer to buy the troubled orphan drug manufacturer. Sanofi offered to purchase Genzyme for $69 per share but the offer was summarily rejected as “too low” by Henri Termeer, Genzyme’s embattled CEO who has been running the company for over 20 years since its inception.

The very public and often acrimonious haggling over the purchase price has become legion in some investment banking and bioventure circles. Nevertheless, most industry and financial analysts predict that Sanofi will prevail and ultimately acquire Genzyme possibly for a share price in the low to mid $70s.  Sanofi desperately needs Genzyme to get into the biotechnology fracas; a field that it seemingly chose to largely ignore for the past 20 years--go figure!  Consequently, it is likely that Sanofi will eventually give Genzyme everything it wants to consummate the deal

Yet, despite progress being reported from the conference, Termeer and Sanofi Aventis CEO Chris Viehbacher haven’t met face-to-face to discuss the terms of a possible deal. However, Viehbacher did mention that Sanofi was “still committed” to purchasing Genzyme.

Stay tuned for the next installment of the saga.

Until next time...

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

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Two years ago Merck formed a new division called BioVentures ostensibly to develop and manufacture biosimilar drugs. Interestingly, the announcement preceded creation of a regulatory approval pathway for biosimilars in the US.  While the approval pathway still isn’t in place, many regulatory experts expect the US government to issue the guidelines by mid-2011 after a meeting that was held on biosimilars by the US Food and Drug Administration last month.

Late last year, the company scuttled its plan to develop a PEGylated version of EPO which was to be its first so-called biosimilar. Unfortunately, PEG-EPO would not be allowed to be approved as a biosimilar via any existing or newly divined pathway because it is actually a new molecular entity and, therefore, would require numerous clinical trials to garner regulatory approval (maybe that is why Merck canceled development).

Nevertheless, Merck expects to have no fewer than 5 biosimilar molecules in clinical development by 2012. To that end, Merck  that it had created an alliance with Parexel International Corp—a global clinical research organization—to help to conduct the clinical trials necessary for regulatory approval of the biosimilars that Merck is developing. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Michael Kamarck, President of Merck BioVentures, declined to specify the products but did mention that the terms of the deal terms were intended to “motivate Parexel to enroll patients quickly and generally execute the clinical trials in a speedy fashion.” He also noted that the Parexcel deal is only “one of an number of strategic steps: that Merck is pursuing in the biosimilar field.

Let’s see whether or not Merck can meet the lofty goals that it has set for itself. Hopefully biosimilar legislation will be in place by 2012!

Until next time....

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

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Biocon, one of India’s leading biopharmaceutical companies today announced that they have entered into a strategic global agreement for the worldwide commercialization of Biocon's biosimilar versions of Insulin and Insulin analog products:  Recombinant Human Insulin, Glargine, Aspart and Lispro.  

As part of the deal, Pfizer will have exclusive rights to commercialize these products globally, with certain exceptions, including co-exclusive rights for all of the products with Biocon in Germany, India and Malaysia.  

Biocon will continue to assume responsibility of clinical development, manufacture and regulatory approval of these products in various geographical regions and countries. Biocon's recombinant human insulin formulations are approved in 27 countries in developing markets, and commercialized in 23. Glargine’s first market was India where it was recently launched.  

Under the terms of the agreement, Pfizer will make upfront payments totaling $200 million.  Biocon is also eligible to receive additional development and regulatory milestone payments of up to $150 million and will receive additional payments linked to Pfizer's sales of its four Insulin biosimilar products across global markets.

While both Biocon and Pfizer are pushing the biosimilar aspect of the deal, it is important to point out that recombinant insulin are approved as “drugs” not biologics in the US. Consequently, these products are not true biosimilars and qualify for ANDA approval in the US. That said, it is intriguing that Pfizer is willing to be portrayed as a company that endorses the use of biosimilar medicines. Interestingly, however, there is still no regulatory approval for biosimilars in the US. And, despite public assertions to the contrary, most major pharmaceutical and big biotech companies are fiercely opposed to the introduction of biosimilars to the US. To that end, the current biosimilar legislation recently approved by Congress will prohibit the US introduction of biosimilars until approximately 2020.  

To date, more than 10 biosimilars have received marketing authorization in the EU and other Western markets. Europe approved a regulatory pathway for approval of biosimilars in 2004. Biosimilars have been sold in the so-call gray, unregulated markets in Asia, South America and elsewhere for the past decade.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (try India, they are hiring)

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The Boston Globe reported today that this morning Henri Termeer, the embattled CEO of Cambridge, MA based Genzyme acknowledged for the first time that company was indeed up for sale. However, he was quick to point out that the $69 per share or $18.8 billion takeover bid from Sanofi Aventis was insufficient.

Over the past few days, Sanofi Aventis’ CEO Christopher A. Viehbacher turned up the heat on Termeer; forcing him to possibly take Sanofi’s latest offer directly to Genzyme shareholders. While Termeer acknowledged that the company was for sale, he hinted that other companies may join the bidding war to get the $75 per share price that the Genzyme board is seeking. 

The Sanofi Aventis-Genzyme situation is beginning to resemble the Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS)-ImClone standoff of two years ago. As you may recall, Jim Cornelius—BMS CEO at the time—publicly and repeatedly offered a “low-ball” price ($62 per share) to purchase ImClone despite admonishments from Carl Icahn, ImClone’s Chairman. As negotiations stalled, Icahn told Cornelius that there were other suitors who were willing to pay a higher price to acquire ImClone. Surprisingly, rather than continuing to negotiate in good faith, Cornelius decided to call Icahn’s “bluff.” In less than a week, Eli Lilly purchased ImClone for $70 per share ($6.5 billion); the price that Ichan had previously and publicly asked for to purchase the company.

Many of you already know that Icahn holds a substantial minority Genzyme stock position and is represented by two current Genzyme board members. That said, if I were Sanofi’s Viehbacher, I would proceed with extreme caution in future negotiations. Like him or not, Icahn is a financial genius and second-to-none negotiating M&A deals. 

Maybe Viehbacher ought to contact Cornelius for advice? Oh yeah...Cornelius retired as CEO earlier this year but he is still Chairman of the BMS Board of Directors. Maybe it is worth a call?

Stay tuned for new developments as the saga continues.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!

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As predicted by many industry insiders and Wall Street analysts, the Genzyme board may be  holding out for at least a $75 per share offer from Sanofi-Aventis.  Previously, Sanofi-Aventis offered Genzyme $69 per share despite clear signals from Genzyme's board and its shareholder that the proffered offer was inadequate.

The Genzyme board is likely under extreme pressure to hold out for the $75 per share price because that is the price being sought by its powerful and influential minority shareholders Carl Icahn and Ralph Whitworth.

Carl Icahn, no stranger to corporate buyouts, is a master at getting the price that he wants for the companies that he sells. He previously sold ImClone to Eli Lilly for $70 per share after Jim Cornelius, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s former CEO, refused to offer more than $64 per share of ImClone stock.

Conventional wisdom suggests that Sanofi will likely buy Genzyme for at least $75 per share if not more!

Stay tuned for updates!

Until next time..

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

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Merck & Co today announced that is reached an agreement with Sinopharm Group Co Ltd one of China’s largest biopharmaceutical companies to market its cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil and other protein-based products in China. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, it is Merck’s first attempt to expand its vaccine and biotechnology business in the rapidly emerging Chinese biopharmaceutical market. Merck, like many other American pharmaceutical companies, now recognize that a Chinese marketing and distribution partner is required to successfully penetrate and compete in China.

Like other big pharma companies, Merck recognizes that its future growth lies in making inroads into emerging markets like Asia, Africa and South America.  Merck executives project that more than 25 percent of the companies pharmaceutical and vaccine sales will come from emerging markets by 2013 (currently 17 percent of revenues are derived from emerging markets). Last May, Merck indicated that it already had 3,000 sales representatives in China which represents a 90 percent increase since 2007.

Cancer is a major problem in China and it is putting a lot of financial pressure on the Chinese government. Moreover, the cervical cancer rate is inordinately high in China mainly because there is no formal screening program similar to those found in the US and Europe. 

Interestingly, the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) types that cause cervical and other cancers in China are somewhat different than those that cause disease in Western countries. For example in addition to HPV 16 and HPV 18, HPV 58, 52 and 33 have also been associated with a high incidence of cervical cancer in China. This suggests that Merck will have to reformulate Gardasil (which contains HPV 6, 11, 16 and 18) to be effective for the Chinese market.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!! (try China)

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Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is trying to regain sole marketing rights to Remicade, its lucrative anti-TNF treatment for arthritis and psoriasis, because Schering Plough (SGP)—which has most of the marketing rights to the drug outside of the US—is being acquired by Merck. JNJ is seeking arbitration to determine whether or not Centocor, its subsidiary that manufactures Remicade and Simponi, can terminate a marketing agreement for the two drugs—based on terms stipulated in the original contract —if there is a “change of control” at SGP.

As you may recall, Merck was acutely aware of the terms of marketing agreement before it decided to purchase SGP and cleverly engineered the acquisition as a reverse merger— to prevent triggering provisions that could return Schering’s marketing rights for Remicade and Simponi to JNJ if their were leadership changes or a change of control at SGP. JNJ’s announcement contesting wasn’t unexpected after the Merck-Schering Plough deal was announced early last winter—sales of Remicade outside of the US topped $2.0 billion in last year. Simponi, Remicade’s highly touted successor (which recently received FDA approval), is also expected to reach blockbuster status after it reaches the market. 

The Merck-Schering deal left JNJ with few alternative or choices. The company could have counter offered to purchase SGP in its entirety or simply, as it did, invoke terms of the original agreement that would terminate SGP’s marketing rights if there was a “change of control” at the company. JNJ rightfully believes that a change of control will occur when Merck acquires SGP. According to a JNJ spokesperson “As its public statements make clear Merck is acquiring Schering Plough. The acquisition constitutes a change of control and trigger’s Centocor’s right to terminate.” It will be interesting to see how an arbitrator rules in the case.

While the loss of Remicade and Simponi isn’t likely to jeopardize the Merck-Schering Plough deal (according to Merck executives), it may affect the financial terms and overall benefit or upside of the acquisition. The expected completion of the deal is scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!

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The New York Times reported today that Genentech’s blockbuster cancer treatment, Avastin, failed to show a significant effect on preventing the recurrence of colon cancer, limiting its utility as an adjunct treatment to treat primary colorectal cancer. While Avastin is already a best-selling cancer treatment, success in this closely watched and highly visible clinical trial could have paved the way to a new uses of the drug, potentially increasing sales by billions of dollars a year.

Avastin had sales of $2.7 billion in the United States alone last year. But it is currently approved only for late-stage colon, breast and lung cancers. For those indications, patient’s lives have been prolonged for up to a few months. The new trial was designed to determine whether or not Avastin could be used earlier in the course of the disease, right after surgery to remove the tumor. The hope of such so-called adjuvant therapy is to prevent the cancer from coming back at all, effectively curing the patient.

While the Avastin failure will have little or no effect on Genentech’s financial outlook, it does call into question whether or not Roche paid too much last month to buy the 44 percent of Genentech it did not already own. Roche has long insisted that its desire to own all of Genentech did not hinge on the results of this trial. And yet, the trial appeared to play a major role in Roche’s months-long negotiations with Genentech.  It appeared that Roche, which had started those discussions last summer, wanted to complete the deal before results of the Avastin trial were announced — on the assumption that a successful trial would have sent Genentech’s stock soaring, possibly putting the takeover price it offered out of reach.  A failed trial, on the other hand, could have pushed down the value of Genentech’s stock. So it now looks as if Roche could have paid less had the results of the Avastin trial come out before it completed the deal.

Art Levinson, Genentech’s former CEO who played hardball with Roche over the course of negotiations, needs to be recognized for his outstanding business acumen. He and other Genentech executives convinced Roche that Avastin sales could quadruple, to $10 billion, by 2015 if the drug could be used for early-stage colon, lung and breast cancers. This possibility induced Roche to raise its bid for Genentech’s outstanding shares from $86.50 to $95 per share. Although Dr. Levinson wasn’t able to fend off Roche’s takeover and is no longer Genetech's CEO, he is likely “laughing all the way to the bank” as the expression goes. And, who said that PhDs aren’t any good at business?

Roche shares were down more than 10 percent on Wednesday, closing at $29.54.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!

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Pfizer's board of directors voted on Sunday evening  to acquire Wyeth for $65 billion.  While this may help to assuage some of Pfizer's short term financial problems, like the loss of  Lipitor in 2011,the deal will not help the combined company in the long run. 

The deal will undoubtedly lead to massive layoffs at both Pfizer and Wyeth--a time when our economy cannot afford much more job loss.  Further, it will diminish competition, reduce the need for more scientists and ultimately diminish America's standing in the life sciences. 

If I were a Pfizer or Wyeth employee the first thing that I would do on Monday morning would be: update my resume, contact as many  recruiters as I can and find a new job before the layoffs begin. I think the era of severance packages is over!

Until next time... 

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!

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GlaxoSmithKline announced late last fall that it would acquire California-based Genelabs for $57 million in cash. The deal closed yesterday and the exodus began today.

According to sources at the company, Genelabs employees will be offered a week of severance pay for each year of service. Genelabs executives and employees have been given pink slips.

By purchasing Genelabs, GSK establishes a presence on the West Coast. Also, it will strengthen its effort to develop therapies against the hepatitis C virus. Genelabs will become part of Glaxo’s drug discovery organization and its hepatitis C virus program.

Luckily for former Genelabs employees, California biotechnology companies are still hiring.

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!! 

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As reported yesterday by the Pharmalot Blog and verified by the New York Times today, the undisclosed “white knight” drug maker that may help ImClone ward off a hostile takeover bid by Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) will make a decision by Wednesday about whether or not it wants to make an offer for the biotech company. 

As you may recall, Carl Icahn, ImClone’s Chairman, announced about a month ago that an unnamed drug company may be willing to offer $70 per share for ImClone stock. BMS responded to the announcement by raising its initial offer from $60 to $62.50 per share for outstanding shares of ImClone’s stock. This feeble counteroffer did nothing but increase the hostilities between ImClone and BMS. BMS currently markets Erbitux ImClone’s blockbuster colon cancer treatment. Based on the tenor of this deal, it is becoming increasingly apparent that ImClone and BMS are not “close” even though they are business partners.

Mr. Icahn, in a brilliant display of his business acumen, has been able to prevent industry insiders from divining the identity of the mysterious suitor (if there is one at all). Conventional wisdom suggests that it is likely to be one of the larger drug companies that would like increase its market share in the biotechnology sector.  The good news is that we may only have to wait another 24 hours before this “cliffhanger” of a deal is resolved (ho-hum). Don’t be surprised that, in the end, BMS may wind up paying more than $70 per share to purchase ImClone.

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting

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 Previously, on the Bristol-Myers Squibb/ImClone Let’s Make a Deal Show. BMS offered $60 per share for the outstanding shares of ImClone that it doesn’t already own. As expected, Carl Icahn, ImClones’s Chairman and former corporate raider, summarily rejected BMS’ offer as insulting and an attempt by BMS to undervalue ImClone’s stock. Then, after a month of silence between the two parties, Mr Icahn announced that an undisclosed pharmaceutical suitor had made a better offer to buy ImClone. Today, about three weeks after Mr Icahn disclosed the information about his mysterious stranger, BMS (as expected) grudgingly raised its offer from $60 to $62 per share. The mysterious stranger seems to be out of the mix now.

Conventional wisdom (and word on the street) suggests that ImClone’s stock is worth about $70-$75 per share and that Carl (and the ImClone board of directors) will not sell the company for anything less. Today’s exchange between BMS and ImClone prompted a Wall Street analyst who has been closely following the twists and turns of the deal to write “we view Bristol’s increased bid and attempt to remove the company’s board as futile. The premium over the prior $60 offer is insufficient, in our view, to woo the larger ImClone stock holders to join it in revolt against Mr. Icahn and his allies on the board. The net result of Bristol’s efforts will amount to little more than yet another exchange of testy letters between the two parties.” And, in fact, Jim Cornelius, BMS’s CEO took the opportunity to do just 

It seems to me that whether or not a deal is reached depends more on who wins the pissing match between Mr Cornelius and Mr. Icahn rather than what is in the best interest of the shareholders of both companies. C’mon guys, we are currently in the midst of the worst economic meltdown in the history of the US —do the right thing and consummate the deal already!

Tune in next time for latest installment of the BMS/ImClone Let’s Make a Deal Show.

Until next time….

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

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The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday that after weeks of exploring a possible sale to a larger pharmaceutical concern, Biogen Idec Inc. reported it had received no serious offers, prompting a 27% drop in the company's stock price.

In after-hours trading, Biogen's stock plunged $20.38 to $55.50, erasing $6 billion in market value. Before the announcement, the shares ended regular trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market at $75.88, up 49 cents according to the journal. Within a few minutes of the announcement, Biogen lost nine months of gains fueled mainly by buyout rumors. Acquisition candidates may have been dissuaded by Biogen's high stock price and market valuation -- its market value had grown to $25 billion after the company announced its intention to sell a couple of months ago.

In a previous post, I suggested that it would be unlikely that Biogen Idec would be able to induce a pharmaceutical suitor to take the “bait”. There simply was “too much hair” on the deal to warrant serious consideration by pharmaceutical suitors.

This will likely to be a serious and damaging blow to the Company. I am not sure what the future holds for Biogen Idec but I suspect it is not a bright one—whatever the outcome. Don’t be surprised if words like reorganization, strategic reallocation of resources or creative staffing solutions begin to appear in the media.  The company needs to sweeten the deal in order to get a real bite!

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (try Biogen/Idec, all of the”smart” people are dusting off their resumes)!!!!!

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