In Vivo's Top M&A Of 2017: Cast Your Vote!
Executive Summary
It's time for In Vivo's 10th annual Deal of the Year contest. We've selected 15 nominees in three categories – Top Alliance, Top Financing and Top M&A – and you get to pick the winners. (It's free.)
In Vivo's editors have scoured our Deals Of The Month columns and have selected our top five picks for the most significant M&A deal of 2017. Click the link at the bottom of this page to vote for your favorite.
Gilead Diversifies With Kite Buy: Gilead Sciences' $12 billion acquisition of CAR-T therapy developer Kite Pharma will make cell therapy the foundation of the company's oncology platform as it moves beyond small-molecule antivirals and attempts to make up for declining hepatitis C drug revenues. Kite's lead CAR-T candidate Yescarta, which was FDA-approved in October for refractory large B-cell lymphoma, could reach almost $2 billion in sales by 2022. [See Deal]
Thermo Fisher Makes Mega-Offer For Patheon: Thermo Fisher Scientific continues its acquisitive streak with a tender offer to acquire leading contract development manufacturer Patheon for $35 per share in a deal valued at $7.2 billion, including $2 billion in debt. It's a lucrative exit for Patheon, which was formed in 2014 and had a $571 million IPO in June 2016. The acquisition provides Thermo Fisher with an entrée into the growing CDMO market, thereby adding a services offering to its already strong pharma and biotech proposition. [See Deal]
BD Buys Bard For $24 Billion: Becton Dickinson will acquire CR Bard for $24 billion to expand its focus beyond diabetes into peripheral vascular disease, urology, hernia and cancer. The combined company will have $16 billion in combined annual revenues and 65,000 employees worldwide. It's the largest medtech acquisition of the year, and the third worth more than $20 billion in the past three years. [See Deal]
CVS/Aetna Vertical Merger Aims To Change Health Care Delivery: In a deal that may be defensive as well as disruptive, CVS bought Aetna Inc. for $77 billion. The companies say a more integrated management and delivery platform will eliminate waste and make health care more affordable. The deal could be a long-term defensive play to reduce CVS' dependence on dispensing prescriptions. And it may be designed to stave off potential disruption posed by Amazon if it decides to move into drug distribution. [See Deal]
J&J/Actelion – Win-Win-Win: Johnson & Johnson's months-long pursuit of Actelion Pharmaceuticals culminated in a $30 billion cash acquisition on January 26. J&J got immediate access to the Swiss biotech's lucrative pulmonary arterial hypertension franchise and late-stage pipeline as well as initial 16% ownership in Idorsia Pharmaceuticals, a new spin-out formed around Actelion's drug discovery operations and early-stage clinical assets. [See Deal][See Deal]