Fund manager, Derek Taner, said that Amgen shareholder, Invesco, doesn't see a big upside to a rumoured potential buyout of Actelion, Bloomberg reported Monday. Invesco, which holds an approximate 1.4 percent stake in the company, "looked at Actelion a couple of times as an investment idea and I don’t see what’s hugely compelling," he stated.
According to sources, Amgen is considering a takeover in order to gain access to Actelion's pipeline of cardiovascular disease drugs, which includes Tracleer, as well as two similar drugs currently in late-stage development. Tracleer generated 1.51 billion Swiss francs ($1.52 billion) in sales, or about 85 percent of the company's total revenue, in 2009 and Helvea analyst Olav Zilian projected that when combined with the new drugs, sales could increase to around $2.1 billion by 2015.
However, Taner warns that there is a risk to the two experimental drugs, noting that "attempts to extend patent life for new and improved molecules isn’t as easy as it used to be." Responding to comments from Amgen executive vice president for research and development, Roger Perlmutter, that the company was interested in pursuing acquisitions that would expand its presence outside of the US, Taner warned that Actelion doesn’t "have an emerging markets presence I would want to see Amgen try to buy."
Reference Articles
Amgen holder Invesco says Actelion deal not ‘hugely compelling’ - (Bloomberg)
**Published in "First Word"
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