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Biotech / Medical : AXYS Pharmaceuticals Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Steve Johnston who wrote (33)	1/20/1998 2:18:00 PM
From: tonyt	Respond to of 455

BIOTECHNOLOGY In a year marked by distinctly mixed biotech results, Arris Pharmaceutical Corp. of South San Francisco pulled off what was potentially 1997's biggest Bay Area combination, acquiring San Diego's Sequana Therapeutics Inc. in a $166 million merger. The merged company, now known as Axys Pharmaceuticals Inc., launched trading Jan. 12. By linking Arris' expertise in integrated drug delivery, combinatorial chemistry and small-molecule drugs with Sequana's focus on genomics and gene discovery, the combination has the potential to leverage both broad areas of research - or at least that's the idea. And Jim McCamant, editor of the Medical Technology Stock Letter in Berkeley, believes the merger will open up new realms of potential partnerships with leading pharmaceutical firms in areas such as genomics, cancer research and agricultural genomics. It's that potential for synergy - or conversely for disaster, if the pieces don't fit together - that makes the Axys combination last year's most intriguing in the region, potentially surpassing larger deals such as Fremont-based Target Therapeutics' $948 million acquisition by Boston Scientific a year ago or Chiron Corp.'s pending $300 million sale of its Chiron Vision division as part of a broader restructuring. But Axys CEO John Walker, formerly Arris' head, has his work cut out for him. The stock market hasn't greeted the deal with much enthusiasm, and some investors think the two companies would have been better off going their own separate ways. - Chris Rauber