Biogen CEO spells out interest in biotech buyout

Just days after scornfully assessing a field of weak-kneed pharma companies that were too timid to see the real value in Biogen Idec, the CEO says he may be in the market for a $10 billion acquisition himself. And in an interview with MergerMarkets he said that any takeover target would not have to have late-stage therapies in the pipeline. A bullish-sounding Jim Mullen also told the publication that he expects to see two new therapies launched this year from a pipeline with 15 compounds in Phase II or beyond. Mullen said Biogen Idec will focus on rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and leukemia.

- read the report from the Financial Times