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Saturday, 01/07/2017 12:19:03 PM

Saturday, January 07, 2017 12:19:03 PM

Post# of 1638
>>> Could Sanofi Acquire BioMarin In Wake Of Amgen LDL Brouhaha?



Investors Business Daily

ALLISON GATLIN

1/06/2017



http://www.investors.com/news/technology/could-sanofi-acquire-biomarin-in-wake-of-amgen-ldl-brouhaha/



Regeneron (REGN) and Sanofi (SNY) could eye BioMarin (BMRN) and The Medicines Co. (MDCO) in the wake of a U.S. judge's ban on their Amgen (AMGN)-rivaling LDL-buster, RBC and Leerink analysts suggested Friday.

Late Thursday, a district judge ruled that Regeneron and Sanofi's Praluent infringes on a pair of Amgen patents for Repatha, a PCSK9 inhibitor that lowers LDL, or "bad," cholesterol in the blood. The decision sent Regeneron and Sanofi stocks into the red.

In the stock market today, Regeneron stock fell 5.5% to 359.99, while Sanofi stock fell 2.7% to 40.37. Amgen, which had its patents reaffirmed, enjoyed a 2.5% gain, to 157.15.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical stock rose 0.65% to 86.85, and The Medicines Co. jumped 1.4% to 36.23, on the suggestion that Regeneron Pharmaceuticals or Sanofi could issue a bid on them to make up the $1 billion to $2 billion lost on the potential removal of Praluent from the U.S. market. BioMarin has a market cap near $15 billion, while The Medicines Co. has a cap near $2.5 billion.

France-based Sanofi, which has a market cap near $104 billion, has been particularly vexed in recent years on M&A. It lost out on Medivation and its blockbuster cancer drug, Xtandi, in a battle with Pfizer (PFE) last year. Last month, Sanofi was said to be jockeying with Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) for Swiss biotech Actelion Pharmaceuticals.

"The revenue loss may theoretically cause Sanofi to continue to increase its M&A activity and we have written BioMarin makes a good fit because of its pure play orphan franchises, which are synergistic with Sanofi's orphan franchises," RBC analyst Michael Yee said Friday in a research note.

Yee estimates BioMarin as a $20 billion to $21 billion deal, slightly above Sanofi's acquisition price of Genzyme for $20 billion several years ago. He has an outperform rating and 125 price target on BioMarin stock.

Leerink analyst Joseph Schwartz sees The Medicines Co. appealing to Regeneron, Sanofi or any parties interested in the PCSK9 space. The Medicines Co. and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) have partnered on inclisiran, a drug aimed at lowering LDL cholesterol.

Schwartz notes in the aftermath of the Praluent injunction, set to go into effect in 30 days, that inclisiran is "second in line to come to market in the PCSK9 space." A New England Journal of Medicine article describes inclisiran as an RNA interference therapeutic inhibitor of PCSK9.

In November, The Medicines Co. and Alnylam delivered strong results for inclisiran in a phase two trial. Investors should expect more clarity on phase three testing in Q1, Schwartz wrote. He has an outperform rating on shares of The Medicines Co.

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