InSite Vision Sees a Better Offer

by | Aug 21, 2015 7:32 pm | Pharmaceuticals

Back in June, InSite Vision Inc. (OTCBB: INSV), which focuses on specialty ophthalmic products for diseases of the eye, agreed to be acquired by QLT Inc. (NASDAQ: QLTI) in an all-stock transaction. QLT shareholders would own about 89% of the combined company, which would retain the QLT  name and be incorporated in Canada, thanks to QLT’s base in Vancouver, British Columbia. Last week, however, InSite informed QLT that a “multi-national pharmaceutical company” had made an unsolicited bid of $0.25 per share of INSV, which the target decided was a better offer than QLT made. QLT now has to match the proposed price, or terminate the agreement. Our bets are on Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:... Read More »

Eye Diseases Spur More M&A in July

by | Jul 13, 2015 2:49 pm | Biotechnology, Medical Devices

At least three of the deals announced so far in July have targeted companies or compounds that treat eye diseases. The first was Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) and its $124 million deal with Applied Genetic Technologies (NASDAQ: AGTC) for the worldwide commercialization rights to one clinical-stage and one pre-clinical therapeutic program. Last week, Allergan Inc. (NYSE: AGN) paid $125 million for Oculeve, Inc., a medical device company focused on new technologies for dry eye disease. Then, rival Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (NYSE: VRX) paid an undisclosed amount for the global rights to EyeGate Pharmaceuticals’ (OTCQB: EYEG) EyeGate II Delivery System and EGP-437 combination product... Read More »

Busy Year for Billion-Dollar Health Care Deals

by | May 11, 2015 5:35 pm | Other Services, Pharmaceuticals

Last week we noted that April was a slow month for healthcare deals. Then we checked our database, DealSearchOnline.com, and discovered there have been 19 billion-dollar deal announcements already in 2015, through May 8th, with a combined total of $103.6 billion. The total for the entire year is about to top $120 billion, on 487 transactions. That’s not on track to beat 2014, yet. Read More »

Endo Tries to Upstage Valeant’s Bid for Salix

by | Mar 16, 2015 8:21 pm | Pharmaceuticals

It’s not over until the fat check arrives. That’s the story of Salix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SLXP), which last month accepted Valeant Pharmaceuticals’ (NYSE: VRX) $10.1 billion acquisition offer. Valeant thought it had snatched victory from Shire plc (NASDAQ: SHPG) and Endo International plc (NASDAQ: ENDP), which were also readying bids for the troubled Salix. Endo apparently wasn’t daunted, and last week came back with a cash and stock bid of approximately $11.1 billion. Stay tuned. Read More »

Year’s Biggest Billion-Dollar Deals Top $64 Billion

by | Mar 16, 2015 8:16 pm | Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals

Already in 2015, we’ve recorded 11 billion-dollar-plus deals, for a total of $64.4 billion. Thanks to the $21 billion AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) bid for Pharmacyclics (NASDAQ: PCYC), the biotechnology sector accounted for $27.5 billion of those big deals. Pharmaceuticals, with four billion-plus transactions, still ranks first, with combined spending of $30.45 billion.  Read More »