Bristol-Myers Pays A Premium For Its Partner

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) may have the unfortunate distinction of being among the most highly-concentrated pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. (For a quick refresher on this, check out Top-Heavy Pharmaceuticals), but management is certainly looking to do something about that. After Monday's close, Bristol-Myers announced a friendly buyout of its partner ZymoGenetics (Nasdaq:ZGEN) in a deal that gives shareholders of this small biotech $9.75 a share in cash, or an 84% premium to the prior closing price.

What is Bristol-Myers Buying?
ZymoGenetics actually has quite a lot going on, but Bristol-Myers is almost certainly buying the company in order to have 100% ownership of its PEG-Interferon lambda drug. This promising hepatitis C therapy is in Phase 2 testing, but could be a blockbuster ($1 billion or more in sales) in less than five years' time. Moreover, this drug could fit in nicely with Bristol-Myers' other clinical HCV candidates, and lead to a potential combination therapy. Just as Gilead (Nasdaq:GILD) has significantly changed the HIV treatment landscape with its combination therapies, Bristol-Myers could possibly do something similar in hepatitis C. 


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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/Bristol-Myers-Pays-A-Premium-For-Its-Partner-BMY-ZGEN-GILD-MRK-ITMN0910.aspx

What ASCO Can Tell You About Biotechs (Pt 3 of 3)

Although this article shares the same two intro paragraphs as the other two ASCO pieces, it discussing a whole separate list of biotechs. I promise!
 
One of the major biotech events of the year is fast approaching. The annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) will take place in Chicago from June 4 to June 8. This event is like Woodstock for biotechnology - if Woodstock were clean, air-conditioned, and had plenty of restrooms. If you invest in biotechs or pharmaceuticals that want to play in the huge and well-reimbursed world of oncology, this is one of the major events of the year. 

Ahead of the meeting, ASCO releases a list of abstracts that scientists and companies will present. In some cases, these abstracts give away at least most of the story (efficacy, safety, etc.), while other abstracts are embargoed until the meeting itself. In any case, investors can still look forward to follow-up data (abstracts are submitted well ahead of the meeting) and often the amount of attention garnered by a presentation reflects overall interest in the compound.

Here we present some of the companies presenting abstracts at ASCO.

For the full article, please go to: 
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/What-ASCO-Can-Tell-You-About-Biotechs-CELG-DCTH-RHHBY-ZIOP-ZGEN0528.aspx