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Biotech / Medical : Sepracor-Looks very promising -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: M. Ramle who wrote (2016)	3/17/1999 1:50:00 PM
From: Don Miller	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 10280

Interesting observation, LLY dove this morning. Looking back three news items I find an article about Abbott containing some very interesting items, such as: Since a young new chief executive was installed at Abbott this January, Wall Street has seen signs of new energy in the company, which makes everything from baby formula to drugs to blood-testing devices but rarely makes a big public splash. "They have been the definition of conservative," said Morgan Stanley analyst Glenn Reicin. "Things are for sure changing." Abbott's stock has recently been trading near its year high of $51.375, and was quoted at $50.75 on the New York Stock Exchange at midday Tuesday. Rumors of all sorts of possible targets have swirled through the stock and options markets this year, most recently centering on medical device firm Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX). Boston Scientific calls -- contracts giving the right to buy stock at a specific price -- have been particularly active. Officials could not be reached for comment. Additionally, analysts have said Abbott's drug pipeline -- chemical compounds under development -- is somewhat thin and could use some support, leading to talk of a deal in the pharmaceutical industry. In January, Abbott quietly suspended its stock repurchase program, signaling to many analysts that it was gearing up for deals that could be accounted for by a "pooling of interests" method, also known as a stock swap. Abbott has declined to comment on the acquisition speculation. Spokeswoman Rhonda Luniak did confirm the suspension in the stock repurchase program, saying it aimed "to allow us greater flexibility." Abbott, which derives about 30 percent of its $12.5 billion in annual sales from pharmaceuticals, does have some well-known drugs, particularly the antibiotic Biaxin. But nothing on the order of Eli Lilly and Co.'s (NYSE:LLY) Prozac antidepressant, G.D. Searle's (NYSE:MTC) new arthritis drug Celebrex or Pfizer Inc.'s (NYSE:PFE) Viagra impotence blockbuster is in the works. "Basically at the last (conference) call, they pretty much kind of stated that they're going to be making some pretty big acquisitions," said Alan Beckhard, medical technology analyst at A.G. Edwards. "I would expect to see some kind of big acquisition or some series of smaller ones, probably as early as this summer." Beckhard said Abbott indicated it was looking for companies with $10 billion to $15 billion in market capitalization. MAZEN, do we know of any companies that could fill their pipeline for them? Do we know of any companies that have a 4-5 Billion capitalization?