Dive Brief:
- Achillion Pharmaceuticals is based on New Haven, CT and focuses on developing hepatitis C (HCV) treatments.
- Achillion has at least four HCV drugs in the pipeline, including one that has already been patented. Analysts at UBS and Deustche Bank have suggested that Gilead could have an interest in acquiring the company to snap up this portfolio.
- After UBS analyst Andrew Peters identified Achillion as a potential takeover target for Gilead, the stock (ACHN) rose to a 52-week high of $11.52. The stock has traded as low as $2.26 in the last 52 weeks.
Dive Insight:
Roche's recent acquisition of InterMune has put biotech companies with strong pipelines back on center stage. From a therapeutic standpoint, Achillion could be an ideal target for Gilead considering that a phase II trial using its game changer Sovaldi in combination with of one of Achillion’s investigational drugs, ACH-3012, yielded a 100% success rate.
Achillion is continuing to test its investigational products in clinical trials and shore up its IP portfolio in the meantime. Gilead’s stock is up 26.8% this year as of Wednesday, and Sovaldi is on track to gross $13 billion in revenues this year.