Lilly CEO 'hungry' for new buyouts

With the ImClone acquisition completed and its operations now fully digested, Eli Lilly CEO John Lechleiter says he's hungry for more takeover deals. And he tells the Wall Street Journal that he's shopping for more companies that look a lot like ImClone at prices that can range up to $15 billion.

ImClone, he explained, was the perfect takeover target, adding new biologics to Lilly's oncology pipeline. Similar buyouts would add more biotech development programs to Lilly, giving it a better shot at gaining approvals on new blockbusters.

"We're going to look for opportunities to be a bit more diverse pharmaceutical company," he told the Journal. "We're not going to buy a medical-device company. We're not going to buy a diagnostic company." And Lechleiter says that Lilly has also been pursuing new investments in Chinese developers, providing three companies $50 million in venture funds.

Just don't expect Lilly to go after any megadeals like its pharma rivals.

"There's no evidence that a consolidated industry is a more productive industry," Dr. Lechleiter said. "I don't think any of these large-scale consolidations address innovation."

- read the story in the Wall Street Journal

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