Replies to post #64627 on Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

MDCO Acquires Curacyte Discovery GmbH for $22M
Plus Considerations

[This one will not go in the buyout table because the acquired company is private.]

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080805/20080805006488.html

›Tuesday August 5, 4:00 pm ET

PARSIPPANY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Medicines Company (NASDAQ: MDCO - News) today announced that it has acquired German-based Curacyte Discovery GmbH and its lead compound, CU-2010, which is being developed for the prevention of surgical blood loss.

CU-2010 is a small molecule serine protease inhibitor. In preclinical studies, the compound has demonstrated a favorable pharmacokinetic profile for the surgical setting with a rapid onset and offset of effect, due to its short half life. The molecule was designed and is being developed to address a significant unmet medical need that has intensified for clinicians since the recent withdrawal of aprotinin. The Medicines Company expects to commence Phase I clinical testing of CU-2010 in 2008. This acquisition gives The Medicines Company an integrated development capability around inhibitors of serine proteases – a drug class that includes bivalirudin (Angiomax), the Company’s leading hospital antithrombotic.

“The acquisition of CU-2010 fits within our focused business development strategy—which is to evaluate both early- and late-stage compounds in our core area of expertise, critical care medicine, particularly thrombosis and hemostasis,” stated Glenn Sblendorio, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The Medicines Company. “CU-2010 brings further depth into our existing portfolio of marketed and development products in cardiac critical care.”

The Medicines Company continues to focus on advancing the treatment of critical care patients through the delivery of innovative, cost-effective medicines to the worldwide hospital marketplace.

“We are transitioning to a company with multiple sources of revenue. Angiomax continues to grow in the United States; we anticipate increased uptake in Europe in 2009 based on new labeling and trials data; and with the approval of Cleviprex in the U.S., we have strengthened our outlook considerably. We further anticipate completion of worldwide Phase III trials of cangrelor in 2009 and the addition of CU-2010 and other compounds to the development pipeline, provides more long term growth potential” said Clive Meanwell, M.D., CEO. “We are also pleased to demonstrate our commitment to investments in medical science in Germany – one of the world’s most innovative and important hospital critical care markets – where Angiox and our other compounds can establish our presence strongly.”

Financial Impact of Transaction

The Medicines Company paid €14.5 million upon signing of the agreement. On decision by The Medicines Company to progress development of CU-2010 into Phase II, a further payment of €10.5 million will be made. If commercialized, a low, single-digit royalty and a single future commercial milestone will be made.

The Medicines Company plans to announce third quarter 2008 financial results in October. At that time, the Company will provide an update on expected 2008 full-year expenses and net income based upon completion of the valuation of the transaction and transition costs.

There will be a conference call with management Wednesday, August 6th at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the Curacyte Discovery acquisition and its impact to ongoing operations. The conference call will be available via phone and webcast. Dial in details are as follows – domestic dial in 877-591-4949; international dial in 719-325-4869. The webcast can be accessed at The Medicines Company website at www.themedicinescompany.com.

About The Medicines Company

The Medicines Company (NASDAQ: MDCO - News) is focused on advancing the treatment of critical care patients through the delivery of innovative, cost-effective medicines to the worldwide hospital marketplace. The Company markets Angiomax® (bivalirudin) in the United States and other countries for use in patients undergoing coronary angioplasty, as well as Cleviprex™ (clevidipine butyrate) injectable emulsion in the United States for the reduction of blood pressure when oral therapy is not feasible or not desirable. The Company also has one product, cangrelor, in late-stage development. The Company's website is www.themedicinescompany.com.

About Curacyte

Curacyte Discovery GmbH, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Curacyte AG. Curacyte AG is an advanced biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of new therapeutics for acute and critical care conditions.

Curacyte’s lead product is hemoximer (Pyridoxalated Hemoglobin Polyoxyethylene, PHP). Hemoximer has been developed as a scavenger of nitric oxide, the causative agent responsible for vasodilation and hypotension in shock. The ability to scavenge and metabolize NO is one of the important physiological functions of natural hemoglobin. Hemoximer has been demonstrated to reverse the vasodilation and resolve the hypotension associated with distributive shock. Hemoximer has completed Phase II clinical development in its primary indication, distributive shock, and is now entering a Phase III study in catecholamine-resistant distributive shock. Apart from distributive shock, hemoximer is also being studied as an adjunct to high-dose interleukin 2 (IL-2) cancer therapy for patients with metastatic melanoma and renal cell carcinoma. Shock is a frequent dose-limiting side effect of high-dose IL-2 therapy. Hemoximer is the proposed International Non-Proprietary Name (INN) for PHP. The Company’s website is www.curacyte.eu.‹


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“The efficient-market hypothesis may be
the foremost piece of B.S. ever promulgated
in any area of human knowledge!”

[DewDiligence]

Is the Buck Back?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121961240718867281.html

›After Dollar's Long Decline, Investors
Wonder Whether a Turning Point Is Here

By JOANNA SLATER
August 25, 2008

The dollar's bounce in recent weeks has investors wondering whether this is the beginning of the end of its extended slide.

Such a turning point would be one of only a handful over the past 30 years. Since the late 1970s, the dollar has experienced long, deep, multiyear trends, veering from superstrong to feeble and back. These currency cycles have tended to last from five to seven years in each direction.

By that standard, the dollar's decline, now more than six years old, is looking long in the tooth. The dollar touched its recent peak versus the euro in late 2001, and against a broader group of currencies in early 2002.

"The biggest question I get is, 'Has the dollar embarked on a seven-year uptrend?'" said Parker King, head of currency investing at Putnam Investments. Some of his clients have started to prepare for that eventuality, he said, by changing their level of exposure to the dollar's movement.

The dollar's latest gains -- it is up 8% versus the euro and 5% against the Japanese yen since mid-July -- have been grounded more in pessimism about growth prospects elsewhere than in optimism about those of the U.S. Recent data have confirmed that economies in Europe and Japan are weakening. The dollar also has benefited from lower oil prices, as the two have tended to trade in opposite directions.

The U.S. credit crunch, housing slump and other baleful indicators are far from enticing. "These are some of the worst U.S. fundamentals I've ever seen for a [dollar] turn," said Alan Ruskin, chief international strategist at RBS Greenwich Capital. "Nonetheless, it does look like a turn."

The record shows that major changes in the dollar's direction take time to unfold and rarely are smooth. In each case, the dollar reached a point of extreme weakness or strength before heading in the other direction. The current slide seems to follow that pattern: From its peak in 2001 until its low last month, the dollar lost nearly half of its value versus the euro, reaching a level that currency experts say is about 30% too cheap based on economic fundamentals.

Still, currencies are known to overshoot such theoretical targets, sometimes for long periods of time. At certain points, the cycle began changing only after governments intervened directly in the currency markets.

So far, there is no sign of such coordinated government intervention, which helped jolt the dollar into moving in different long-term directions in 1985 and 1995, for instance. In 1985, governments intervened to prevent a strong dollar from becoming stronger; in 1995, they did the opposite.

Capital flows also play a role in major turns in the dollar, as investors re-evaluate where to put their money around the globe. Around the time of the previous big shift in the dollar, the dot-com bubble popped and a U.S. recession followed. That prompted the Federal Reserve to slice interest rates dramatically, making dollar-denominated investments less enticing.

Now, tentative signs have emerged that things are turning more positive for the buck on that front. There are stronger inflows coming into the U.S. in search of bargains on mergers and acquisitions. The net total of such deal-related inflows now in the pipeline touched its highest point in seven years at the end of July, according to Bank of America.

At the same time, U.S. investors are no longer sending massive amounts of money abroad in search of profits. Mutual funds that focus on investing abroad had net inflows of $9 billion in the first six months of this year, compared with more than $80 billion in the same period last year, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Another possible positive for the dollar: Exports are rising, so the U.S. trade deficit is declining. In June, exports registered their largest monthly jump in more than four years. By making U.S. goods more competitive overseas, the dollar's long weakness has helped to mitigate some of the large imbalances in the global economy.

However, some investors say that without signs of improvement in the overall U.S. economy, an upturn in the dollar remains unlikely. One condition for the dollar's rally to be sustainable "is that the U.S. economy stabilizes, and that's a huge gamble," said Maxime Tessier, head of foreign exchange at the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Quebec, Canada's largest pension fund, with $155 billion under management.

Private investors overseas aren't rushing to buy U.S. stocks and bonds because of such leeriness about the U.S. economy, noted a recent report from Goldman Sachs, a factor it said it would be monitoring closely to gauge the dollar's future trajectory.

Even some who think the dollar is bottoming are cautious. David Rolley, who manages $23 billion in global bonds at Loomis Sayles, has been holding more assets in dollars than his benchmark index recommends. Despite the dollar's recent gains, "We're not brave enough to add to [that] trade," he said. "There's still grief and consternation out there."‹

[DewDiligence]

Recent Biotech Buyouts at a Large Premium

[Added MEDI and PHRM deals. Table excludes
hostile deals not yet consummated such as
Roche-DNA and BMY-IMCL.]

 
 Acquired         Premium    Deal         iHub  
 Company  Buyer   to Market  Value  Date  Reference  
 KOSN     BMY       233%     $190M  5/08  #msg-29647147 
 COLY     PFE       167%     $165M 11/07  #msg-24600805 
 IOMI     Intercell 147%     $190M  5/08  #msg-29232165  
 BTRX     Stiefel   136%     $150M  6/08  #msg-30201906 
 SGXP     LLY       119%     $64M   7/08  #msg-30547648 
 ENCY     PFE       118%     $350M  2/08  #msg-26978155 
 TRCA     Ipsen     104%     $660M  6/08  #msg-29795183  
 Speedel  NVS        94%     $880M  7/08  #msg-30588524 
 SIRT     GSK        85%     $620M  4/08  #msg-28705020  
 Ventana  Roche      72%     $3.4B  1/08  #msg-30912677 
 Jerini   Shire     *71%     $520M  7/08  #msg-30452872 
 Acambis  SNY        64%     $550M  7/08  #msg-30990498 
 MEDI     AZN      ‡‡53%     $15.2B 4/07  #msg-19020387 
 MLNM     Takeda     53%     $8.8B  4/08  #msg-28365383 
 LEVP     VPHM     ††49%     $440M  7/08  #msg-30704409 
 PHRM     CELG       46%     $2.9B 11/07  #msg-24645394      
 BRL      TEVA     **42%     $9.0B  7/08  #msg-30792830 
 MOGN     Eisai      39%     $3.9B 12/07  #msg-25163775  
 CGPI     Galderma   30%     $420M  2/08  #msg-28286522 
 APPX     Fresenius †29%     $940M  7/08  #msg-30498388 
 ARI.to   Roche     ‡15%     $190M  7/08  #msg-30904056 
  
 *199% premium to volume-weighted 
 price during preceding 3 months. 
  
 **Premium based on 7/16/08 close;  
 $9B price includes assumption of debt. 
  
 †Premium reaches 63% if earn-out met. 
  
 ††Premium reaches 103% if earn-out met; 
 base price subject to collar. 
  
 ‡Number is misleading inasmuch as Arius announced in 
 May 2008 that it was pursued by an unnamed suitor. 
  
 ‡‡Premium relative to 4/11/07 close; MEDI 
 announced intention to be sold on 4/12/07.

“The efficient-market hypothesis may be
the foremost piece of B.S. ever promulgated
in any area of human knowledge!”