Pfizer (PFE), Merck (MRK), Eli Lilly (LLY) to go Acquisition Route?

with Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) alone about to lose $10 billion in revenue from the ending of its patent on Lipitor, Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) and Pfizer not getting approval for certain drugs in the pipeline, and Merck (NYSE:MRK) abandoning two of its major clinical trials, the question is what will replace the existing pipelines of the companies.

The answer appears to be they will have to closely watch their smaller competitors with drugs coming up, and from there make strategic acquisitions.

There is risk on both sides there, as they have the challenge of acquiring a smaller company before approval of a drug in order to beat their larger competitors to it, but also the risk of a drug thought to be viable not being approved.

Astrazeneca PLC (NYSE:AZN ), GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK), Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) and Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) and Bayer were all recently downgraded by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) on similar concerns.

Why Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN), Kendle International (KNDL), Sigma Designs (SIGM) Got Crushed Last Week

Amylin Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:AMLN), Kendle International (Nasdaq:KNDL) and Sigma Designs (Nasdaq:SIGM) got hammered last week, falling from 13.07 percent to 25.38 percent in one day.

This is an all too familiar and distasteful feeling for investors in Amylin Pharmaceuticals. Back in October, they got crushed when Amylin lost almost half its market value after the FDA rejected its diabetes drug Bydureon, saying the drug needed more testing.

So yesterday, Amylin and partners Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) and Alkermes announced results from a new clinical trial against Novo Nordisk's (NYSE:NVO) Victoza (which weren't part of the regulatory process) and came up short. Apparently, way short. While the pharmaceutical still plans to resubmit its application to market Bydureon for the third time, investors aren't waiting around again.

Clinical research organization Kendle International sold off sharply yesterday over the big fourth-quarter loss it reported, reversing a year-ago profit, and it's down another 11% this morning.

Sigma's on board with Motorola Mobility (MMI), Cisco (Nasdaq:CSCO), and others, and Sigma-based boxes for IPTV solutions are expanding. There's no reason to think Sigma Designs won't be laughing at this plunge later.






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