NitroMed receives "unsolicited" acquisition offer
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
NitroMed, the US company developing nitric oxide drugs, has received an "unsolicited" acquisition offer of $0.50 per share in cash from investors Deerfield Management. Deerfield said that the offer would offer substantially better value to shareholders, expressing "sincere disappointment" in NitroMed's decision to sell its BiDil assets and merge with Archemix. NitroMed agreed in October to sell all the assets of the heart failure treatment BiDil (isosorbide dinitrate/hydralazine hydrochloride), its only approved drug, to JHP Pharmaceuticals for $24.5 million. Last month Nitromed announced its merger with Archemix, an aptamer therapy developer, which will hold a 70% share of the combined company (ScripOnline, November 21st, 2008). Deerfield, which owns a 12% stake of NitroMed, said: "Unfortunately, the decisions of the NitroMed board have placed us in the untenable position of neither being able to sell our shares at a reasonable price, nor receiving any value for the company's assets." NitroMed's board and its advisors are considering the proposal. NitroMed's share price rose to $0.30 on December 4th, the day of the announcement, up by 76.5% on the previous day's closing value.
You may also be interested in...
Innovation not M&A to drive Bayer growth in LatAm
Laura Gonz�lez-Molero will be celebrating her first anniversary as President of Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Latin America this month. With Bayer posting total sales of €1.05bnin Latin America in 2014, up 13% over 2013, Ms Gonz�lez-Molero should be pleased with a successful inaugural year. Resolute in her belief that innovation, "part of Bayer's DNA," will determine the company's long-term success in Latin America, rather than growth through acquisition, Ms Gonz�lez-Molero talks to Scrip about her personal ambitions for the company and the region.
2010 Scrip 100 - Is Anvisa a friend of innovators?
A decade since its formation Anvisa, Brazil's medicines regulator, has shaken up the country's framework for ensuring drug quality. Yet the agency's approaches to drug pricing and registration have left some multinationals wanting, reports Sita Shah.
Elan raises $1.5 billion
Elan is raising $1.5 billion in bonds to refinance its existing debt and for general corporate purposes, it says.