Amgen Rumored to be Another Medivation Suitor
May 6, 2016
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
SAN FRANCISCO – There is no shortage of suitors for Bay Area’s Medivation , which has already been wooed by the likes of Sanofi , AstraZeneca and Pfizer . Now reports are coming in that Amgen is also calling on the cancer therapy company in hopes of some kind of marriage.
The question is which company will win the heart and pipeline of Medivation, which may be difficult since David Hung, chief executive officer of Medivation, and the company’s board of directors said has so far fended off any would-be acquirers. It is not known if Hung and the Medivation board is actually interested in pursuing any merger, or if the company is playing coy in hopes of a premium offer.
What’s driving these companies to woo Medivation is that company’s prostate drug, Xtandi. As has been reported by BioSpace before, with its marketing partner, Astellas Pharma , sales of Xtandi grew 73 percent in the U.S. in 2015 and 116 percent globally. It also has at least two additional oncology drugs in its pipeline, pidilizumab to treat B-cell lymphoma and other blood cancers, and talazoparib for breast cancer. Talazoparib is considered a possible blockbuster—over $1 billion in annual sales. Also, recent recommendations by the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) will allow Xtandi to be marketed and labeled as being better than rival drugs.
In a previous statement, Hung said Medivation has established a “world class oncology franchise and a unique, diversified and highly-promising late-stage development pipeline.”
In looking to acquire Medivation, Sanofi made an unsolicited offer of $9.3 billion, or $52.50 per share. Medivation stock is currently trading at $59.87 per share. However, Sanofi’s CEO Oliver Brandicourt suggested in a letter that Medivation’s stock value would only range in the $30s had it not been for Sanofi’s wooing of the company, however there is indication Medivation’s stock was moving upward based on the company’s own work. In a letter sent to Medivation, Sanofi indicates it had discussed the acquisition with top Medivation shareholders and believes there is “overwhelming support by your shareholders for a transaction.
It is unknown how much Amgen is willing to pony up to acquire Medivation, Bloomberg noted that Amgen is looking for a new deal after “digesting” the 2013 $10 billion acquisition of Onyx . Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg said Amgen is speaking with its own advisors on whether or not to approach Medivation. Nothing has been decided and Amgen may never formally enter the wooing process, Bloomberg said.
If Amgen does enter, it will likely encounter opposition from deal-hungry Pfizer, which recently abandoned its merger with Dublin-based Allergan (AGN) after the U.S. Treasury Department expanded its rules regarding tax inversions.
With all of the suitors circling, Medivation amended its bylaws in April to give the board of directors more leverage in negotiations. The amendment includes two provisions. The first indicates that written consent actions from stockholders can be independently reviewed, while the second requires that any claims against the company by stockholders have to be done in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware.