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PHARMACEUTICALS

Bayer says $2.6bn Algeta takeover successful

German pharmaceuticals giant Bayer said on Wednesday that its 1.9-billion-euro ($2.6-billion) bid for Norwegian cancer treatment specialist Algeta has been successful and it now holds more than 97 percent in the firm.

Bayer says $2.6bn Algeta takeover successful
Xofigo, Algeta's leading cancer treatment - Algeta
"The way is now clear for the Bayer group to acquire Norwegian pharmaceutical company Algeta," the German giant said in a statement.
   
"On expiration of the offer deadline on February 26, Bayer had received acceptances for the voluntary takeover offer for a total of approximately 42.73 million shares, representing approximately 97.28 percent of Algeta's share capital," the statement said.
   
The German firm had offered Algeta shareholders 362 kronor per share in cash.
   
Bayer said it has obtained all regulatory approvals required for completion of the deal.
   
"The transfer of shares to Bayer and the payment of the offer price will take place in the coming days but no later than March 12," it said.
   
Following that, Bayer would initiate a compulsory acquisition process with the aim of becoming the sole shareholder of Algeta.
   
It would also file for delisting of the Algeta shares from the Oslo Stock Exchange.
   
Bayer said it expected to complete the acquisition in the first quarter of this year.
   
Bayer and Algeta have been collaborating since 2009 on the development and commercialisation of the cancer drug Xofigo.
   
"The acquisition gives us full control over Xofigo. We are absolutely convinced of the potential of this drug and the underlying technology to provide patients with innovative treatment options," Bayer said.

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PHARMACEUTICALS

Swiss pharma giant Novartis to splash nine billion euros on US firm

Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Novartis announced over the weekend it would dish out $9.7 billion (8.8 billion euros) to acquire US firm Medicines Company, in a move aimed at boosting its cardiovascular treatment portfolio.

Swiss pharma giant Novartis to splash nine billion euros on US firm
Photo: AFP

Novartis said Sunday it had agreed to pay $85 per Medicines Co. share, which was 41 percent over the US company's closing price on Friday. 

The move will mark the latest in a line of acquisitions aimed at enhancing the Swiss company's stable of cutting-edge drugs to treat things like cancer.  

In snapping up Medicines Co., the pharma giant said it will lay its hands on a promising cholesterol drug called inclisiran, described by company chief Vas Narasimhan as a “potentially transformational medicine”.

Inclisiran, which recently completed its phase III study, fights “bad” LDL cholesterol in patients with atherosclerosis, or plaque buildup in their arteries.

The drug, which requires far fewer annual injections than the products currently on the market, is based on RNA interference therapy.

This is a natural phenomenon used to silence specific genes that produce harmful or diseased proteins, whose discovery in the late 1990s earned Craig Mello and Andrew Fire the 2006 Nobel Medicine Prize.

Such therapy is increasingly being used for a range of conditions.

The Medicine Co's drug specifically blocks the liver from making a particular enzyme, PCSK9, which in turn lowers the production of low-density lipoprotein.

Medicines Co has said it plans to request regulatory approval in the United States by the end of the year, and in Europe in early 2020.

Overall sales of anti-cholesterol treatments are on average rising 11 percent annually and are expected to reach $17.7 billion by 2024, according to numbers from analysis firm EvaluatePharma.

High cholesterol is a key factor in coronary artery disease, the most common kind of heart disease and the number one killer of men and women worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

If the transaction is completed, inclisiran will be added to Novartis's current cardiovascular products, including its heart-failure treatment Entresto, which saw its sales soar 61 percent year on year to $430 million during the third quarter this year.

“Novartis has a longstanding history of delivering breakthrough cardiovascular treatments for patients, and I am very excited about the opportunity to add inclisiran to our cardiovascular portfolio,” Marie-France Tschudin, president of Novartis Pharmaceutical, said in a statement.

Analysts with Jefferies hailed the move, saying there was a “clear strategic rationale” for the acquisition, and for “bolstering Novartis' cardiovascular franchise, notably leveraging Entresto.”

Novartis said it planned to pay for the acquisition with “available cash and short- and long-term borrowings.”

The acquisition, which still needs a green light from antitrust authorities, is expected to be finalised during the first quarter of 2020.

Following Sunday's announcement, Novartis saw its share price inch 0.4 percent higher to 90.14 Swiss francs ($90.40, 82 euros) a piece in midday trading Monday on the Swiss stock exchange.