More Pharma Deals In The Pipeline?

While much of the focus in the pharmaceutical and biotech sector has been on whether or not Hillary Clinton will ascend to the White House, it's hard to ignore the flurry of deals taking being done. Not to mention some of the premiums being paid.

For example, last Wednesday Allergan plc Ordinary SharesAGN, after recently being a target of takeover, purchased Vitae Pharmaceuticals Inc VTAE for $21 per share, or a 160 percent premium to its previous closing price of $8.10.

When a sector starts to heat up for deals, there's usually a catalyst that gets the ball rolling. In this instance, it certainly may be the fierce competition for the rights to purchase Medivation Inc MDVN.

As it turns out, the deal went off much higher than Pfizer Inc.'s PFE initial bid of $65. In fact, the deal was done at $81.50 per share equating to $14 billion. The reason for that being as many as four other companies joined in the bidding process. It should be noted that this was a sizable deal and other companies that joined the bidding war aren't small players in the industry.

As a result, those other companies looking to do acquisitions have turned to other companies in the sector. Whether or not Allergan was one of the companies rebuffed in the Medivation, it's obvious the sector is heating and there may be many more deals on the horizon.

Last week, Citigroup speculated Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc SGYP may be a likely target for Takeda. The firm noted commentary in the Financial Times regarding Takeda's appetite for U.S.-based acquisitions.

This Week's Deals ... A Trend Continued

• Allergan reported it would purchase Tobira Therapeutics Inc TBRA for an upfront payment of $28.35/share in cash, up to $49.84/share in CVRs.
• Allergan acquired Akarna Therapeutics global rights to AKN-083 for up-front payment of $50 million.
• Chatter being heard that Clovis Oncology Inc CLVS is a potential takeout target.