Cubist up on Novartis $1.6B buy rumors
Swiss drug major Novartis may be looking to buy USA-based Cubist Pharmaceuticals for $26 a share, $1.6 billion in total, according to market rumors. The speculation caused shares in the latter to jump 12% on the day of the news, April 4.
Shares in Cubist have been falling steadily since the start of 2009, down from around $25 per share at that point, to just $13.81 in March.
The two firms already have a partnership to market the antibiotic Cubicin (daptomycin), revenue from which rose 45% year-on-year for 2008, to $414.7 million. However, sales have been weak in Europe, which ThinkEquity analyst Brian Skorney believes may be due to a lack of attention from Novartis. Also, Gregory Wade of Webush Morgan notes that the Swiss company recently purchased Protez Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures a potential rival to Cubicin.
This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.
Login to your accountTry before you buy
Free
7 day trial access
- All the news that moves the needle in pharma and biotech
- Exclusive features, podcasts, interviews, data analyses and commentary from our global network of life sciences reporters.
- Receive The Pharma Letter daily news bulletin, free forever.
Become a subscriber
£820
Or £77 per month
- Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
- Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
- Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
- Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
- Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription
The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed
Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK
Today's issue
Company Spotlight
Copyright © The Pharma Letter 2025 | Headless Content Management with Blaze