Regeneron inks $295M antibody discovery deal with Astellas

Regeneron's growing antibody expertise is paying off with a rich, newly renegotiated discovery deal with Japan's Astellas. The pharma company has decided to scrap its three-year-old collaboration--under which it paid Tarrytown, NY-based Regeneron $20 million a year to find promising new drug candidates--and agreed to hand over $165 million up front with a potential $130 million check due eight years from now. Provided Astellas is happy with the first half of the deal and re-ups for the second,...

Astellas buys OSI for $4B

After months of wrangling, OSI Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: OSIP) has agreed to be acquired by Japan's Astellas for $57.50 per share, or $4 billion. That's a premium of 55 percent to the closing price for OSI's shares on Feb. 26, when Astellas made its original $3.5 billion, $52-per-share offer. Astellas launched a hostile takeover attempt after OSI's board rejected that bid. The successful deal is a victory for Astellas CEO Masafumi Nogimori, who last year was unable to execute...

OSI shares rise as bid deadline nears

Shares of OSI Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: OSIP) were up this morning as investors anticipate a sweeter offer from Astellas for the drugmaker. A source tells Reuters that bids for OSI are due later today, though it's not clear yet whether another company is ready to swoop in and snap up the drug developer, which boasts the blockbuster drug Tarceva. Astellas' current bid stands at $52 a share (about $3.5 billion), well below the $59 OSI's stock has been fetching. The two companies previously...