Just over a month into its search for "strategic options," ThromboGenics has rounded up a bevy of high-dollar offers that could value the company at as much as $1.3 billion, Bloomberg reports, courted by drugmakers who see promise in its underperforming eye drug.
Novartis ($NVS) leads the pack, according to Bloomberg's sources, which is unsurprising considering the Swiss drugmaker holds ex-U.S. rights to Jetrea, ThromboGenics' FDA-approved treatment for the vision-damaging symptomatic vitreomacular adhesion, or VMA. Also in the running are Roche ($RHHBY), Shire ($SHPG), Regeneron ($REGN), Allergan ($AGN) and the deal-crazed Valeant ($VRX), Bloomberg reports.
Each reported suitor likely has a plan to succeed with Jetrea where ThromboGenics has suffered. Before a share price surge tied to its February announcement that it would listen to buyout offers, the biotech had repeatedly posted disappointing sales figures for its ocular drug, and ThromboGenics' Jetrea trouble is often cited as an example of why specialty drugmakers shouldn't march to market without a deep-pocketed partner.
And every member of Bloomberg's list of bidders fits that bill. Roche, for instance, already has an eye care sales force in place to push Lucentis, a treatment for age-related macular degeneration, while Regeneron boasts the same for its competing Eylea. Meanwhile, Shire hasn't been shy about spending money to diversify its offerings, and neither has Valeant, which spent $8.7 billion on eye care giant Bausch + Lomb last year.
The prospect of a larger and more-experienced player taking the wheel on Jetrea is exactly what ThromboGenics' investors would like to see, and the Bloomberg report sent the Swiss-traded biotech up about 17% on Monday afternoon.
ThromboGenics isn't commenting on any of the rumors and even put out a news release to say so, adding that its strategic review is in its early stages and that the company "does not intend to comment further on market speculation unless and until it otherwise deems further disclosure is appropriate or required."
- read the article
- here's the company's response