BioCentury
ARTICLE | Top Story

Genentech to acquire Tanox

November 10, 2006 2:20 AM UTC

DNA said late Thursday that it plans to acquire TNOX for $20 per share in cash, or $919 million. The deal price is a 47% premium to TNOX's close of $13.64 on Thursday. DNA said the deal would improve its profits from asthma drug Xolair omalizumab, which it jointly developed with TNOX and Novartis (NVS). DNA would no longer pay royalties for the humanized MAb against IgE and would get TNOX's profit share payments and royalties from NVS. At Sept. 30, TNOX reported nine-month royalty and profit-sharing revenues of $33.4 million. NVS is conducting a Phase III study of Xolair in pediatric allergic asthma patients, while DNA is running a Phase IIb trial in peanut-allergic subjects. ...