US Merck Joins Race to Take Medivation
US-based Merck & Co is the latest company to consider buying US biopharmaceuticals firm Medivation. Citing people familiar with the matter, news agency Reuters reported that Merck & Co is one of five drugs firms that have submitted their interest in the California-based company. The others are Sanofi, Pfizer, Celgene and Gilead Sciences.
Medivation has already rejected two offers from Sanofi, the most recent in July for $58/share in cash plus $3/share in the form of a contingent value right relating to sales for Talazoparib, Medivation’s potential breast cancer treatment. Last month, Medivation agreed to open its books after the French drugmaker said it would drop efforts to replace the company’s board of directors.
For Merck, Medivation would complement its existing cancer portfolio which includes Keytruda, a leading immuno-oncology treatment that is expected to achieve sales of around $5 billion by 2020. In its second-quarter earnings call this month, Medivation reported an 11% year-on-year rise in sales of its blockbuster prostate cancer drug Xtandi, affirming the company’s expectations of more than 50% growth in revenue this year. It also cited positive late-stage trial data for Talazoparib.
