J&J in the works to buy Pharmacyclics
A bid from J&J is expected to value Pharmacyclics near its US$17.5 billion market value or at a premium, FT said on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Shares of Pharmacyclics, which markets blood cancer drug Imbruvica with J&J’s Janssen unit, rose about 3 % in extended trading.
Sales of Imbruvica, which has U.S. approvals for four forms of blood cancer, are expected to touch US$1 billion in the United States this year, Pharmacyclics has said earlier.
Bloomberg reported last month, citing sources, that Pharmacyclics was mulling a sale and had attracted the interest of J&J and Novartis AG.
Any interest from J&J would be logical, considering its already established relationship with Pharmacyclics, Morningstar analyst Stefan Quenneville told Reuters.
Sunnyvale, California-based Pharmacyclics’ shares were trading at US$238 after the bell. Up to Wednesday’s close, the stock had risen about 22 % since the Bloomberg report on Feb. 25.
Category: Features, Pharmaceuticals
