Genzyme again snubs suitor Sanofi
pharmafile | November 10, 2010 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Campath, Chris Viehbacher, Genzyme, Henri Termeer, Orphan Drugs, Plavix, Sanofi, Sanofi-Aventis, manufacturing compliance
Genzyme has once again snubbed Sanofi-Aventis as the French pharma firm continues its pursuit of the beleaguered biotech company.
Henri Termeer, head of Massachusetts, US-based Genzyme, has rejected Sanofi’s chief executive Chris Viehbacher’s latest reiteration his $69 a share offer, which amounts to £18.5 billion for the entire company.
“Our board is unanimous in its view that the $69 offer is not an appropriate starting point for the discussions Sanofi seeks,” Termeer said yesterday in a letter to Viehbacher.
“We are open to a transaction that appropriately recognises Genzyme’s intrinsic value and prospects. We will meet with Sanofi if it makes an offer that gives our board of directors reason to believe it will lead to that result.”
In a regulatory filing in early October, Genzyme raised the prospect of ‘staggering the board terms’, thus preventing shareholders from voting out all the directors at once.
Such a ‘poison pill’ dwould make a takeover prohibitively expensive or using Massachusetts law to block the deal, Sanofi said.
“It would be inappropriate for the board to take these defensive actions,” Viehbacher wrote in his letter.
“If we are unable to have a direct dialogue with you, in all fairness you should allow your shareholders the opportunity to decide for themselves whether or not to accept our proposal.”
Genzyme has suffered a number of manufacturing woes over the past 18 months that has left it vulnerable to a possible hostile takeover from Sanofi.
In October, in an effort to bolster the company’s position in the eyes of its suitor, Genzyme released data from a five-year phase II study of its MS candidate Campath, currently indicated to treat blood cancers, and forecast sales of nearly $3 billion.
However this week Novartis, whose oral MS drug Gilenya was recently approved by the FDA, said it “doubts” Genzyme’s estimates for Campath are accurate in what is becoming a highly competitive market.
Sanofi’s Viehbacher originally expressed interest in the biotech firm back in July but has not budged on his $18.5 billion offer to the biotech firm.
Sanofi is one of the last of big pharma firms not to make a large merger with an external biotech firm and Genzyme’s high priced orphan drugs could help it offset the looming patent expiry of its top earner Plavix.
Ben Adams
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