January 30, 2017
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Johnson & Johnson ’s recent $30 billion acquisition of Swiss-based Actelion has also fueled speculation that 2017 is going to be a big year for acquisitions. It was furthered along by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited ’s acquisition of Cambridge, Mass.-based Ariad Pharmaceuticals for about $5.2 billion, and Celgene Corporation acquisition it of Cambridge, Mass.-based Delinia for a total deal of about $775 million.
Bret Jensen, writing for TheStreet Real Money, speculates on three other companies he thinks will be hot acquisition targets this year.
Since at least April 2016, Acadia Pharmaceuticals has been the source of acquisition speculation. In April, there were rumors that Biogen might buy the company, because there’s a fair amount of overlap in their markets. Biogen dominates the multiple sclerosis (MS) market, has three Alzheimer’s drugs in its pipeline, and recently had Nusinersen approved for spinal muscular atrophy, and has a drug being evaluated for Parkinson’s disease.
Acadia’s Nuplazid was the first drug to be approved for Parkinson’s psychosis, and is currently in late-stage trials for Alzheimer’s psychosis and schizophrenia.
Jensen writes, “The rollout is off to a good start and Parkinson’s is probably a $1 billion indication by itself. I have already heard several anecdotal stories about the compound being prescribed ‘off label.’”
Acadia is currently being traded for $31.76.
Synergy Pharmaceuticals just received approval on January 19 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Trulance for chronic idiopathic constipation. It plans to file for another indication, IBS-C, and seems to have advantages over the top drug for that indication on the market, Linzess. Jensen speculates that Takeda (TKPYY) might be looking at the company and might even already be in talks.
“We are thrilled with the approval of Trulance because it provides an additional, much-needed, new treatment option to help adults with chronic idiopathic constipation and their healthcare providers manage this condition,” said Gary Jacob,” Synergy ’s chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement. “I am confident that we truly have the right team with the right strategic vision and the right launch plan to successfully bring Trulance into this large but underserved market.”
Synergy is currently trading for $6.20.
Jensen thinks Exelixis would be a top pick if Gilead Sciences decided to expand in oncology. Exelixis’ Cabometyx was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA for advanced renal cell carcinoma that was previously treated with anti-angiogenic therapy. Launched in the second quarter of 2016, it’s already picked up about a third of the market for that indication, and most analysts think it will receive label expansion approval.
Cabometyx brought in more than $30 million in the company’s last reported quarter, and that’s after only being on the market for a few months.
Jensen writes, “Exelixis, although the stock has basically quadrupled since May, still could find itself a target. The oncology space is hot for M&A and there are few mid-cap concerns in the sector.”
Exelixis is currently trading for $18.14.
