Acquisition deals in biotech keep getting richer

The post-deal analysis on Merck's acquisition of Sirna for $1.1 billion, which includes a hefty premium for stockholders, left analysts somewhat agog over the numbers. And with that kind of money on the table for RNAi technology--which holds huge promise but is still years away from commercialization--other players in the field like Alnylam and Nastech saw their stock prices surge. With licensing deals and acquisitions looking increasingly fat for biotech companies, the analysts are betting that the Sirna deal will push other big pharma companies into signing some rich deals for the independent players in the market. Of course, now that the pioneers of RNAi have won the Nobel Prize, it makes the whole field look like a smart play.

- read the BusinessWeek report on the latest buyout trends

ALSO: In an interview with MarketWatch, Schering-Plough CEO Fred Hassan called the recent amounts being paid in takeovers "breathtaking" and indicative of how hard it is to gain control of major new drug candidates. Report

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