Report: Theravance CEO shrugs off a soured $1B Elan deal

Elan ($ELN) shareholders didn't much care for Kelly Martin's $1 billion royalty deal with Theravance. Or any other deals, for that matter, aside from a share buyback. But that doesn't seem to upset Theravance ($THRX) CEO Rick Winningham even a little bit. In an interview with Pharmalot, Winningham says he's scouting a new deal. And the chances of finding another $1 billion package? "There aren't a lot of companies in the royalty purchase space that have done transactions greater than $300 million over the last 10 years," he tells the blog. "Only one consistently that large was Royalty Pharma. In the space below $300 million, it's relatively active and a number are seeking to purchase assets. It's a relatively attractive asset class in which to invest. Going forward, we'll look to do a deal similar to Elan, but probably smaller than a $1 billion chunk at a time." Story