Horizon Therapeutics in separate sale talks with Amgen, Sanofi and J&J

Horizon had dropped 27% in this year through Tuesday’s close, valuing the company at $17.8bn (€17.2bn).

Shares in Horizon Therapeutics rose by the most in more than three years after the Irish drug developer disclosed it’s in talks with a trio of potential suitors about a possible sale of the company.

Amgen, Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi are separately engaged in preliminary discussions with Horizon, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. There’s no certainty that any of the talks will lead to an offer. Dublin-based Horizon rose 30% in trading after markets closed in New York.

The biotechnology firm has submitted a planning application for the expansion of its Waterford development and manufacturing facility that will create approximately 350 jobs if developed. In trading yesterday, shares in the firm jumped more than 30% at one stage. Emerging from the exhausting focus on Covid-19, big drugmakers are resuming their search for innovative therapies, especially for those that treat rare diseases and cancer.

Horizon had dropped 27% this year through Tuesday’s close, valuing the company at $17.8bn (€17.2bn). The company gets almost half of its $3.6bn (€3.48bn) in annual sales from Tepezza, a treatment for a painful autoimmune condition called thyroid eye disease. Other top drugs include Krystexxa for chronic gout and Ravicti, a treatment for inborn urea disorders.

Horizon is “a premier biotech company that offers significant growth opportunities across both commercialized and pipeline assets,” Guggenheim Partners analysts led by Yatin Suneja said in a note. Based on sales estimates, they see a potential deal value of $25bn (€24.1bn) to $30bn (€29).

Under Irish law, each company would have until January 10 to either step up with an offer or say it’s backing out, Horizon said in the statement. The company has US operations in Deerfield, Illinois, and Rockville, Maryland.

Bloomberg