Lilly broke the news Monday morning that ImClone had accepted its offer to acquire the biotech firm for $6.5 billion or $70 per share—Lilly’s largest acquisition ever.

With this purchase Lilly gains control of ImClone’s blockbuster, targeted cancer agent Erbitux, which is marketed for second- and third-line colon cancer and refractory head and neck cancer.

ImClone also has five monoclonal antibodies in clinical development—including one in Phase III and two currently moving out of Phase II trials. The acquisition will help Lilly meet the challenge of patent expiration that it will see in the next decade and bolster its 13 oncology drugs currently in development.

One sticking point will be how the deal affects ImClone’s co-marketing pact with Bristol-Myers Squibb in the United States. BMS currently pays a 39 percent distribution fee to ImClone for Erbitux and owns 17 percent of ImClone stock. In an investor call this morning, Lilly said it could not comment on the situation. (more…)

King Pharmaceuticals sweetened its offer to purchase Alpharma this morning. The drug firm boosted the bid price to $37 per share or $1.6 billion from the initial of $33 a share it presented in early August. If Alpharma refuses, King is prepared to get down and dirty.

In a pointed letter to Alpharma’s board, King President and CEO Brian A. Markison stated that every effort to negotiate terms and costs with Alpharma has been ignored.

“While we would prefer to work cooperatively with you and your Board to complete a negotiated transaction, our Board of Directors has authorized management to commence a tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock of Alpharma for $37 per share in cash, which we intend to do promptly.”

On August 22, Alpharma President and CEO Dean J. Mitchell rejected King’s initial offer stating, “the proposal is inadequate and does not reflect the Company’s inherent value.” Mitchell accused Markison of publicly commenting on negotiations without a confidentiality agreement and noted that the offer was not up to snuff because of potential earnings of Alpharma’s pain drug Embeda, currently under review by FDA.

In a statement to the press today, ImClone Chairman Carl Icahn said that the review committee overlooking Bristol-Myers Squibb’s offer to purchase the biotech company for $60 per share $4.5 billion just isn’t good enough.

He not only accused BMS of lowballing, but also admitted that the company has been in talks with the head of another mysterious pharma company, which has resulted in an offer of $70 per share in cash.

“The special committee has determined, subject to the execution of a confidentiality agreement, to allow this company to conduct due diligence for a two week period, subject to extension by mutual consent,” the release stated. “No determination has been made as to whether $70 per share would be adequate.”

BMS has yet to release statement in reaction to Icahn’s comments. BMS is a 17 percent stakeholder in ImClone and worked with ImClone to bring the head/neck cancer treatment Erbitux to the US market. ImClone is mum about the new suitor.

Photo by Jenn Jenn