COVID-19 Vaccine Rush Pushes Biotech Deals
For the past few weeks, we’ve discussed the widening effects of the current pandemic on healthcare M&A, particularly on the services sectors, but until this week, dealmaking hasn’t been directly focused on COVID-19. As the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries race to find a COVID-19 vaccine, companies are bolstering their efforts with new collaborations and acquisitions. They’re the first transactions of their kind, and we expect to see more in the coming months. This week, Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX), a clinical-stage company focused on developing recombinant protein nanoparticle vaccines, spent $167 million cash to acquire Praha Vaccines from Cyrus... Read More »
Pfizer Teams up on Lyme Disease Vaccine
Even as it scrambles to join the hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine, Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is still open to other ventures. On April 30 the Big Pharma signed a collaboration agreement with French specialty vaccine maker Valneva SE to develop and commercialize Valvena’s Lyme disease drug candidate VLA15, which is currently in Phase 2 clinical studies. VLA15 is the only active Lyme disease vaccine program in clinical development today and covers six serotypes that are prevalent in North America and Europe. It demonstrated strong immunogenicity and safety data in pre-clinical and Phase 1 studies. The program was granted Fast Track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July... Read More »
Takeda Divests Another Portfolio
In another step to slim down its product line, Takeda Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: TAK) announced another portfolio divestment. Orifarm Group A/S, an ambitious operator in the European pharmaceutical market, has purchased Takeda’s portfolio of select non-core over-the-counter and prescription pharmaceutical products sold in Europe, and two manufacturing sites located in Denmark and Poland for $575 million. The portfolio includes a variety of OTC products and select prescription products in the respiratory, anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular and endocrinology therapeutic areas sold predominantly in Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Poland, Finland, Sweden, the Baltics and Austria. The portfolio... Read More »
Takeda Exits LatAm Portfolio
The Pharmaceutical sector, once a powerhouse of billion-dollar M&A activity, has been relatively quiet in recent years. One exception was Takeda Pharmaceutical’s (NYSE: TAK) takeover of Shire plc in 2018 for $81.5 billion. In March, the Japanese drug maker was back again, although on the sell-side. Takeda announced the sale of a portfolio of select non-core products exclusively in Latin America, including over-the-counter and prescription pharmaceutical products sold in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Peru. The buyer was Brazil’s largest pharmaceutical company, Hypera S.A., with a leading position in branded prescriptions, consumer health and... Read More »
Pharmaceutical Firms Are Cleaning House to Profit
There’s no doubt it was an unusually slow February in the healthcare M&A market. Historically, the middle of Q1 tends to dip and then rebound by March, but with less than 100 deals on the books, the rapid spread of the coronavirus, Covid-19, seems to have undercut investor confidence, both big and small. And although some biotech stocks have soared following announcements of their coronavirus treatment efforts, pharmaceutical firms have been relatively quiet. Aside from some players like Gilead (NASDAQ:GILD), which just announced a $4.9 billion acquisition of Forty Seven, Inc. (NASDAQ: FTSV) and whose product remdesivir is seen a hope as a potential treatment for Covid-19, no... Read More »Schedule a demo
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