CYBERKEN, The interest in the mergers of the big boys is unreal. The website has had well over 10,000 hits ia a week, and a very healthy percent are from big boys. In fact most have already bookmarked the site. The number of lurkers on this thread is several hundred times higher than then number of posters, and they have used their mouse to place their votes on what they would like to read about.
Of course the mergers will have a big impact on LGND and virtually all other biotechs, either through alliance partnerships or a shifting of the competitive environment. The merger mania right now is red hot, and most of the action involves LGND's partners. AHP may now be shifting to PNU (as reported in two articles in tomorrow's Barron's) and PNU has a strong interest in cosmeceuticals (Rogaine). AHP of course has a huge alliance with LGND and other merger talkers (SBH and GLX) also have programs with LGND.
The principle drivers of most of the talks are R&D budgets and pipelines in search of the next blockbuster drug, and LGND has done well to get in on the action (for SERMs they have programs with PFE, AHP, and LLY) and of course more an more interest in combinations will emerge (Rexinoids combined with SERMs for cancer and osteoporosis or with TZDs for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity are a few examples).
Obviously, some posters on this thread take an extremely narrow and short term view, but far more readers are interested in the long term, which will clearly be impacted by the unprecedented wave of mergers that should happen very soon. Of course I think that the emphasis on R&D and pipelines will benefit LGND, because they have one of the best, if not the best, pipelines in the industry. |
