Scale was elusive

MedImmune Inc. is going away in what can only be called a blaze of glory - a $15.6 billion takeout by AstraZeneca plc. The deal price is about a 53% premium to MEDI's valuation on April 11, the day before it said it was on the block. But even more striking is the contrast between the aggressive moves by AZN's new management team in acquiring the pieces it believes it needs to build critical mass and MEDI's business building efforts, which have sputtered since its 2001 acquisition of Aviron.

AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN; AZN, London, U.K.) was attracted to MEDI's downstream biologics capabilities, including process development, manufacturing, and clinical and regulatory infrastructure. Ironically, those capabilities probably were underutilized at MEDI, which has a thin late-stage pipeline and an internal engine that hasn't produced an approved home-grown drug since the 1998 approval of Synagis palivizumab for RSV...