Nycomed "viewing options," including a sale, IPO or Daxas licensing deals?

Privately-held Swiss drugmaker Nycomed, which generated turnover of 3.4 billion euros ($4.6 billion) and earnings before interest tax and  amortization of 1.3 million euros for 2008, has hired Goldman Sachs to  explore the sale of the company, reports the Wall Street Journal,  putting a value of 10.0 billion euros on the firm.

Another possibility being considered by Nycomed, according to the WSJ,  is an Initial Public Offering, or a licensing deal for its drug  candidate Daxas (roflumilast), which has shown encouraging results in a  preliminary analysis of four Phase III trials in the treatment of  symptomatic chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (Marketletter  November 10, 2008).

In light of the initial data analysis, Nycomed expects to file for  European and US marketing authorization next year. It has also initiated  the process for finding a partner for Daxas in the USA. The COPD  compound came into Nycomed's hands after it bought German chemical  group Altana's pharmaceutical business in 2006. Assuming that the drug  gains regulatory approvals, it would compete with the likes of drug  majors GlaxoSmithKline's Advair (fluticasone propionate/salmeterol),  with sales last year of around $6.0 billion, and Spiriva (tiotropium),  marketed by Pfizer and Boehringer Ingelheim.