Abbott Labs buying $250 million shares in Millennium as part of metabolic

Abbott Laboratories has agreed to buy $250 million in shares ofMillennium Pharmaceuticals as part of a five-year strategic alliance formed by the firms to discover, develop and commercialize drugs and diagnostics for obesity and diabetes. Abbott will have $50 million in Millennium stock once the deal is closed and the remaining $200 million will be bought over the course of the next two years. The news sent the latter's share price into a frenzy (see page 9).

The companies claim that they are committed to contributing their metabolic disease research pipelines exclusively to the new partnership, with more than 35 projects in the alliance at the outset, with neither partner conducting R&D or commercialization of products in obesity and diabetes outside the collaboration. Abbott and Millennium will also jointly pursue in-licensing of additional therapeutics in the metabolic disease field, and the former said it will also incorporate into this relationship the targets and lead compounds developed in its type 2 diabetes collaborations with Karo Bio and Metabolex.

225 scientists to work on project