Replies to post #289211 on Avid Bioservices Inc (CDMO)

[biopharm]

“PS expression is upregulated by chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and photodynamic therapy in vitro. A combination therapy of PS-targeting + Anti-PD-L1 appears superior to single agent therapy. Our future plan is to investigate the effect of local irradiation or photodynamic therapy combined with PS-targeting mAb & anti-PD-L1 Ab.”
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Ampersand has never spoken to Dr Herbert Kim Lyerly ? Ampersand seems to be in bed with Telegraph Hill Partners and Merck vs standing up for shareholders at Avid CDMO ...but maybe they have succumbed to the powers of Merck and Merck likes to buy out what they want ....but they failed to buy out Peregrine Pharmaceuticals with CEO Steve King ...so what was the plan they went with?

Here we see Immune Design being picked apart by Merck...so is there any hedge fund or IIS or biotech that wants to change the plan?

Anita Kavlie and ALL the players involved could just be granted a nice whistleblower deal and immunity because it seems the powers to be are going further up the Big Pharma ladder ...where Hedge funds don't want to be discovered

Let's go Ampersand ...have some conflicts of interest with Avid CDMO? The BOD at TriPharm ( a new CDMO in NC ) seem to give more details in their operations than Avid ... they seem more aligned with John Springs Stafford

Maybe J Brian Schaer or David Schaer have some comments soon

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Anatomy of a deal: How Merck closed Immune Design for $300M

by Amirah Al Idrus | Mar 7, 2019 11:28am
After Immune Design CEO Carlos Paya said his company was not for sale, Merck Research Labs President Roger Perlmutter went to a "significant stockholder" of Immune Design to make his case. (Merck)
Two weeks ago, Merck & Co. announced its plan to buy out Immune Design—a biotech working on immunotherapies for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, respiratory syncytial virus and peanut allergies—for $300 million. The Big Pharma moved on its tender offer on Monday, ending a nine-month back-and-forth that transformed a potential licensing deal into an outright acquisition.

It all started with talks about a potential licensing deal between the two at “an Infectious Disease and Vaccine Symposium sponsored by Merck” in May 2018, according to an SEC filing. Merck and Immune Design continued to discuss a possible license over the ensuing months—until October, when Merck EVP and Merck Research Labs President Roger Perlmutter, M.D., Ph.D., got involved.

Perlmutter met with Immune Design CEO Carlos Paya, M.D., Ph.D., “during a scientific conference to further discuss a potential licensing transaction.” During that meeting, the subject of an acquisition came up, though Perlmutter did not specify a price, according to the filing.

Paya’s response? Immune Design was not for sale—“especially within the range of its then-current trading price.” But Merck wasn’t taking no for an answer.

RELATED: Merck moves to buy Immune Design and its cancer vaccines platform for $300M

A week later, Perlmutter went to representatives of a “significant stockholder of IMDZ” to gauge how amenable they would be to a takeover by Merck. In early November, Merck gave Paya a verbal offer, which was soon followed by a nonbinding indication of interest to Immune Design’s board. Merck proposed acquiring the company for $200 million in cash, with two potential further payments of $85 million, based on “the achievement of certain regulatory approvals.”

A week later, Merck sent a revised offer after feedback from Immune Design. This time, the offer was for $225 million in cash with no additional “value rights payments.” Finally, on Nov. 26, Merck sent over what eventually became its tender offer: a proposal to acquire 100% of Immune Design’s shares at a purchase price equal to $5.85 per share. The duo announced the deal, which will have an approximate value of $300 million, in February.

“Scientists at Immune Design have established a unique portfolio of approaches to cancer immunization and adjuvant systems designed to enhance the ability of a vaccine to protect against infection, which could meaningfully improve vaccine development," Perlmutter said at the time. “This acquisition builds upon Merck’s industry-leading programs that harness the power of the immune system to prevent and treat disease.”

The deal is expected to close in the second quarter.


https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/anatomy-a-deal-how-merck-closed-immune-design-for-300m