Shares of diabetes drug maker Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. jumped Monday after a report the company is reaching out to potential buyers about a possible sale.
THE SPARK: Reuters reported the San Diego company is looking for buyers and has hired Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs as financial advisers. Amylin did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
THE BIG PICTURE: Amylin sells the diabetes treatments Bydureon and Byetta. The company reportedly rejected a buyout offer from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. earlier this year, and it is being sued by billionaire investor Carl Icahn.
Bloomberg News reported in late March that Bristol-Myers offered to buy Amylin for $3.5 billion, or $22 per share. Icahn said the company should have disclosed that offer to shareholders and asked the company for an additional opportunity to nominate new directors to Amylin's board. On April 9, Icahn filed a lawsuit seeking the chance to nominate new directors.
Byetta is a twice-per-day diabetes treatment that has been on the market for years. The Food and Drug Administration approved Bydureon, which is taken once a week, in late January. Amylin developed Bydureon with Eli Lilly and Co., but the companies ended their partnership in November. Since then, Amylin has been looking for a partner to help it market the drug overseas.
SHARE ACTION: Amylin shares rose $2.50, or 10.9 percent, to $25.42 in morning trading. Earlier the stock peaked at $25.96, its highest price in 3 1/2 years.
Amylin stock has risen 48.9 percent since the report of the Bristol-Myers Squibb offer, and the shares are up 88.8 percent since the approval of Bydureon on Jan. 30.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-04/D9UANP780.htm
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