Report: Wyeth, Crucell close to $1.35B deal

Citing "people familiar with the matter," the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Wyeth is in talks to buy Crucell for €1 billion, or $1.35 billion. The deal could be announced as early as next week, though reports say both Novartis and Sanofi-Aventis are interested in Crucell and could make a bid for the company.

Crucell, a vaccine company, markets jabs for hepatitis B, pediatric respiratory and travel illnesses such as typhoid and cholera. According to the company's site, it's pipeline includes programs for vaccines against "yellow fever, influenza, Ebola, malaria and tuberculosis, and protein products such as the rabies antibodies mix and blood coagulation factors."

In a statement, Crucell had this to say: "Crucell...confirms that it is in friendly discussions with Wyeth that may lead to a combination of the two companies. These discussions are at a preliminary stage and there is no certainty that they will result in a transaction. An update will be provided in due course." Wyeth has yet to comment on the report.

- here's Crucell's statement [1]
- read the WSJ article [2]

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