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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowEli Lilly and Co. would buy San Diego-based biotech company Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. if corporate raider Carl Icahn gets his way.
Icahn, a major investor in Amylin, is pushing for an immediate sale of the company to Indianapolis-based Lilly, according to a letter written by Amylin’s lead independent director, James N. Wilson.
Amylin and Lilly have worked together to develop and market Byetta, a twice-a-day diabetes medicine, and a once-weekly version that has yet to receive regulatory approval. Worldwide sales of Byetta grew 16 percent in 2008, to $751 million.
The letter was filed this morning with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. Icahn orchestrated the sale of New York-based ImClone Systems Inc. to Lilly last year for $6.5 billion – a price many thought was high.
But Wilson doesn’t think Icahn can do the same with Amylin.
“Amylin’s Board and management believe that a sale of the company today would dramatically undervalue the opportunity shareholders will have through the approval and launch of [Byetta] once-weekly,” Wilson wrote to Icahn. He added: “This is not the time to consider such an action.”
Icahn has filed to elect his own slate of directors to Amylin’s board. Amylin shareholders will vote to elect directors at their annual meeting May 27.
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