PHARMA LITERATI

Eli Lilly is buying ARMO BioSciences in a deal valued at around $1.6 billion, to ramp up its immune-oncology pipeline. Under the deal, Lilly will pay $50 per share for ARMO in an all-cash transaction, securing itself access to the firm’s lead immuno-oncology asset, pegilodecakin, which is being studied in multiple tumour types. The drug is a PEGylated IL-10 which has shown clinical benefit as a single agent, and in combination with both chemotherapy and checkpoint inhibitor therapy, across several tumor types. Pegilodecakin is currently being studied in a Phase III clinical trial in pancreatic cancer, as well as earlier-Phase trials in lung and renal cell cancer, melanoma and others. ARMO also has a number of other immuno-oncology product candidates in various stages of pre-clinical development. " The acquisition of ARMO BioSciences adds a promising next generation clinical immunotherapy asset to Lilly's portfolio of innovative oncology medicines ,” note...

The Rs 3600 crore acquisition of Unichem's domestic business by Torrent Pharma has brought the mojo back into India pharma's merger and acquisition scene, which was eluding large deals in the past few years. Concerns related to the US market, which contributes major revenues for most of the leading firms, increasing regulatory concerns and price controls in the domestic market were forcing drug majors to be cautious in jumping into big deals. The struggle of leader Sun Pharma to digest its biggest acquisition, Ranbaxy Laboratories, also made drug firms cautious in executing large M&As. Sun and Ranbaxy had merged in February 2015 in a cashless share transaction worth $3.2 billion, after an year of announcing the deal. Thereafter Indian pharma was not witnessing any large mergers. Indian drug firms' domestic business was always an attraction for multinationals to get a footprint in India. In the largest ever transaction so far, Ajay Piramal had sold his formula...

Hyderabad-based pharma co may spend $200 m on Generis, which has a presence across anti-infective, anti-diabetes & dermatology drugs Hyderabad-based Aurobindo Pharma has expressed preliminary interest in acquiring Portuguese drug maker Generis Farmaceutica for about $200 million. Generis has a presence across anti-infective, respiratory, anti-diabetes and dermatology drugs and sells to hospitals, clinics and pharmacies besides having a contract manufacturing and analytical services arm. Aurobindo's latest bid comes on the heels of an earlier shot at Israeli-drug maker Teva's UK product portfolio, where it was outbid by rival Intas Pharmaceuticals last month. The family-owned Ahmedabad company paid a whopping $764 million to bolster its European operations. Aurobindo's move to buy the Portuguese firm is seen as resurrection of an earlier interest after its Teva chase was foiled.The Generis deal is on the table for the past few months, it fits Aurobindo...

Co to pay $40 m to Auven Therapeutics upfront; deal to help pharma major bolster its specialty ophthalmic drugs pipeline India's largest drug maker Sun Pharma announced it agreed to acquire Ocular Technologies from Auven Therapeutics , a private equity firm focused on accelerated development of breakthrough drugs. Sun will pay Auven $40 million upfront, contingent development milestones and sales milestones, in addition to royalties on sales of Seciera, a drug used for the treatment of dry eye disease . Sun is aiming to steadily bolster its specialty ophthalmic drugs pipeline for the global markets, particularly in the US. Its existing pipeline drugs for eye care related diseases in the US include BromSite, DexaSite and Xelpros. “ This potential acquisition signifies continued momentum in enhancing our global branded specialty portfolio ,” said Dilip Shanghvi, managing director, Sun Pharma. Seciera is presently in phase three confirmatory clinical trials ...

Dilip Shanghvi ‘s deal-making mystique is called into question as Sun Pharmaceuticals faces an array of challenges at home and abroad When Dilip Shanghvi wants something, he has a track record of getting it. One executive , Srinivas Lanka, recalls the founder of Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd calling more than 100 times over three years with a job offer two decades ago. Shanghvi was setting off on an acquisition-fuelled strategy to transform his small generic drugmaker into an industry powerhouse, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. In the end, Shanghvi won over Lanka, who agreed to leave his job at global pharma giant Novartis AG and sign on as the executive director in charge of Sun’s Indian business in 1996, staying until 1999. “ A lot of entrepreneurs used to call me, but not many had this kind of fire in their belly ,” said Lanka. “ I thought this guy has some different blood in him .” That kind of relentless drive has helped make Sun India’s biggest drugmak...

Pfizer Inc. and Medivation, Inc. announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Pfizer will acquire Medivation, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing small molecules for oncology, for $81.50 a share in cash for a total enterprise value of approximately $14 billion. “ The proposed acquisition of Medivation is expected to immediately accelerate revenue growth and drive overall earnings growth potential for Pfizer ,” said Ian Read, chairman and chief executive officer, Pfizer. “ The addition of Medivation will strengthen Pfizer’s Innovative Health business and accelerate its pathway to a leadership position in oncology, one of our key focus areas, which we believe will drive greater growth and scale of that business over the long-term. This transaction is another example of how we are effectively deploying our capital to generate attractive returns and create shareholder value .” Medivation’s portfolio includes X...

Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE) in Germany scientists have concluded that the mergers are having a sizable negative impact on innovation and R&D at the combined firm’s rivals in pharmaceutical industry. The details were published on Harvard Business Review.  Please see the details at: https://hbr.org/2016/08/research-innovation-suffers-when-drug-companies-merge The team analyzed 65 pharma mergers that were all scrutinized, but eventually approved, by the European Commission and also other jurisdictions. The results very clearly show that R&D and patenting within the merged entity decline substantially after a merger, compared to the same activity in both companies beforehand . Then we applied a market analysis, the same one used by the European Union in its models, to analyze how the rivals of the merging firms change their innovation activities afterward. On average, patenting and R&D expenditures of non-merging competitors also fel...

2015 had already surpassed 2014 as the year with the biggest healthcare deals by value. Now, it's not even close. "Through this combination, Pfizer will have greater financial flexibility that will facilitate our continued discovery and development of new innovative medicines for patients, direct return of capital to shareholders, and continued investment in the United States, while also enabling our pursuit of business development opportunities on a more competitive footing within our industry," said Pfizer chief Ian Read in a statement. The makers of some of the best-selling pharmaceutical products in the world, including Viagra and Botox, are planning to join forces in an agreement that's bound to raise scrutiny from the White House and federal regulators. The Treasury Department announced last week that it would be releasing new rules to make it more difficult for pharma companies to pursue these precise types of domicile-shifting inversion mergers. ...

Lupin Ltd. , India's second-largest drugmaker by market value, and Cipla Ltd. are among companies that bid for UCB SA's U.S. generic-drug business. The Indian companies submitted first-round offers for UCB's Kremers Urban Pharmaceuticals Inc. unit in late April. The business could be valued at about $1 billion. The Brussels-based drugmaker is selling Kremers Urban as it focuses on drugs for central nervous system illnesses and immunology. Indian drugmakers have been considering acquisitions to better compete with market leader Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd after it acquired domestic rival Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd., based in Hyderabad, has already agreed to buy UCB's brands in India for 118 million euros ($129 million). Source:  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/international-business/Lupin-Cipla-Said-to-Bid-for-UCBs-1-billion-US-generics-unit/articleshow/47507952.cms