AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline, both of which are based in the United Kingdom and have big operations in the Philadelphia region, were busy in the last few days trying to make deals to add external pieces to their pharmaceutical portfolios. Late Friday night, AstraZeneca announced that it would pay $3.4 billion to Amylin Pharmaceuticals - after Amylin is acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb in a multi-pronged deal that amounts to about $7 billion. Basically, AstraZeneca will share expenses and profits from Amylin with Bristol-Myers Squibb on Amylin’s diabetes drugs.
