Biogen Idec Inc., the world's largest maker of multiple sclerosis medicines, is on the hunt for new compounds to treat MS and other neurodegenerative diseases, and may purchase companies outright or partner with them, the company's research chief said. Biogen is "very actively" reviewing licensing and acquisition possibilities with companies that have drugs in the first two stages of testing needed for regulatory approval, Doug Williams, executive vice president of the biotechnology company, said Tuesday. Treatments for immunology and hematology are areas of interest, he said. Williams formerly was chief executive officer of ZymoGenetics Inc., acquired last year by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. for $725 million. While he declined to comment on specific targets, Elan Corp. and Acorda Therapeutics Inc. were listed by Michael Yee, an RBC Capital Markets analyst based in San Francisco. "We see a lot of things, and people know that we have access to capital to put to use for these types of transactions," Williams said. "We are recognized as being the leader in the space and have the wherewithal to get transactions done." As of March 31, Biogen had $791 million cash and near-term cash, according to the company. Acquiring either Elan, with a market cap of $5.5 billion, or Acorda, at $1.2 billion, would make "smart financial sense because these products are low-hanging fruit that add revenue and meaningful profitability, EPS accretion, and generate attractive" return on investment for shareholders, Yee wrote in a May 13 note. Niamh Lyons, a spokeswoman for Elan, declined to comment on mergers and acquisitions possibilities. Jeff Macdonald, a spokesman for Acorda, also declined to comment. Biogen is partnered with Elan on the MS drug Tysabri, which generated $900 million in 2010, and Acorda for outside-the-U.S. marketing efforts of Fampyra, which had $133 million in U.S. sales. MS affects about 2.1 million people in the world, with about 400,000 patients in the United States, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The chronic disease attacks the central nervous system and can cause numbness in limbs, paralysis and vision loss. The most-common form of MS is relapsing-remitting, characterized by flare-ups followed by periods of recovery.
Why would Biogen buy this piece of S--t. They cant evan get Ampyra approved in europe and sales are taking in the US. Keep Dreamin
They would buy Ampyra because it is an easy addition to their portfolio and would be easy for the current Biogen reps to talk about. They are already in the exact same accounts as we are. It may be Acorda's only choice at this point as it seems the ship is sinking slowly.
