Will looming drug approval make AMAG a buyout target?

After nearly three decades of drug development work, AMAG Pharmaceuticals appears poised to gain an FDA approval for its first product. And a group of analysts have been providing the company with a solid thumb's up for its prospective success.

The attention is being focused on Feraheme, an intravenous iron therapy for anemia. AMAG CEO Brian Pereira tells Dow Jones that the iron market is approaching a billion dollars a year, and AMAG can take a leading position in it with an approval. The therapy is expected to have an edge in the market largely due to its ease of administration and less frequent dosing schedule than current therapies require.  

One analyst projects that annual sales of Feraheme could rise to $284 million by 2013. Adam Cutler of Canaccord Adams also believes that AMAG--which was once called Advanced Magnetics--could be an acquisition target after an approval, with Amgen and Genzyme two likely suitors.

- read the report from Dow Jones

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