Big Pharma chiefs balk at bidding against Roche for Illumina

Other major pharma chiefs don't see the same opportunity in acquiring Illumina ($ILMN) as does Roche CEO Severin Schwan, whose company's $5.7 billion hostile takeover bid for the maker of DNA sequencers has generated buzz about other potential suitors. Based on their recent remarks on the situation, count out Sanofi ($SNY) CEO Chris Viehbacher and Novartis ($NVS) CEO Joe Jimenez. "It's just not the risk profile we're looking for. It could pay off well or there's a big downside," Viehbacher said, as quoted by Reuters. "You need to be part of new technologies but I think partnership is the way to go." Article