Abstract

As the industry turned the corner into 2017, biopharma deal-making activity continued its rapid pace. We focused on these four key deals, among many others, in Q1: Johnson & Johnson’s megadeal to acquire Actelion Ltd.; Sanofi SA’s deal with AstraZeneca plc for its MedImmune RSV antibody franchise; Eli Lilly and Co.’s nearly $1B deal for CoLucid Pharmaceuticals; and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Inc.’s T cell deal with Maverick Therapeutics Inc., which included an option to buy.

J&J, ACTELION FINALIZE $30B TAKEOVER IN ONE OF BIOPHARMA’S LARGEST M&A DEALS

It’s all over and it’s all about to begin. After a stop-start series of negotiations, Johnson & Johnson and Actelion agreed in late January to terms on a $30 billion takeover deal, under which J&J will pay $280 cash per Actelion share to acquire its slate of commercial products and two late-stage clinical development assets, while Actelion’s shareholders will retain ownership of the company’s drug discovery and early clinical development operations in a spin-off firm that was provisionally dubbed R&DNewco.

Immediately before the takeover deal is finalized in the second quarter, the new firm will be spun out with CHF1 billion (US$998,992 million) cash, and its shares will be listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX) in Zurich. Actelion is based in Allschwill, Switzerland. Actelion CEO and co-founder Jean-Paul Clozel and its chairman, Jean Pierre Garnier, will pl ...