Crucell shares soar on Wyeth merger talks

Shares of the vaccine-maker Crucell soared 35 percent this morning on the news that it is in merger talks with Wyeth. Terms of the deal haven't been disclosed, but several reports indicate that Wyeth is valuing Crucell at more than $1.35 billion.

At a time when many analysts are looking for cash-rich pharma companies to snap up cash-starved developers, a marriage of Wyeth and Crucell would combine two strong companies. While shares for both are down, neither has succumbed to the financial panic that has blitzed small and medium-sized biotech companies.

News of the merger talks hit just after Wyeth CEO Bernard Poussot (photo [1]) told a conference in New York that the drug company is positioning itself to earn more money from nontraditional sources, such as biotech, vaccines and consumer products. Currently, Wyeth gets about 60 percent of its revenue from sources other than traditional therapeutics. Poussot expects that figure to jump to 75 percent in four or five years.

While independent, Crucell has struck a string of licensing deals for its technology and is also engaged in a research partnership with Sanofi-Aventis and other developers.

- read the report [2] from WSJ

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