Astex shareholder Sarissa questions Otsuka deal
Hedge fund Sarissa Capital Management said it does not plan to tender its shares in Astex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTX) at the $8.50 price per share at which Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) is acquiring the cancer company. Sarissa, which holds a 5% stake in Astex, said the company did not reach out to all potentially interested bidders and the price significantly undervalues Astex. Sarissa -- which was founded last year by Alex Denner after he stepped down as managing director of entities associated with Carl Icahn -- also said Astex's auction process was "biased towards a transaction that would preserve the existing infrastructure of Astex rather than obtain the high value transaction." Otsuka is making Astex a subsidiary.
Additionally, Sarissa said it is "inexplicable" that Astex is aiming to close its sale before two upcoming data milestones for SGI-110 that Sarissa said could "definitively illustrate" the value of the second-generation version of Astex's myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) drug Dacogen decitabine. In August, Astex said SGI-110 led to an overall remission rate of 25% in 67 evaluable acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) patients. Additional data are expected in December and next year (see BioCentury, Sept. 9). ...