22 novembre 2005 21:58
Implant makers battling.. Mentor breast and testicular implants
Bidding wars hit Scottsdale firm
and other companies in the so-called medicinal beauty market are trying to gobble each other up to become one-stop shops for breast implants, Botox injections ...
Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. of Scottsdale is in the midst of a high-stakes feeding frenzy that has erupted in the burgeoning aesthetic medicine industry.
Medicis and other companies in the so-called medicinal beauty market are trying to gobble each other up to become one-stop shops for breast implants, Botox injections, liposuction equipment, "dermal fillers" that plump up facial skin and surgical bands that reduce the size of the stomach.
Medicis, whose product Restylane is the leading dermal filler in the United States, was hit Friday with an unsolicited $2.2 billion takeover offer from Mentor Corp., a Santa Barbara, Calif., maker of breast and testicular implants.
Mentor's offer came as Medicis' proposed $2.8 billion acquisition of Inamed Corp., another Santa Barbara maker of breast implants, was hitting the skids because Inamed received a larger offer from another company.
Still, Mentor's offer was swiftly rejected on Sunday.
Medicis Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jonah Shacknai said the Mentor offer was not worthy of consideration beyond the company's fiduciary responsibility to review it.
"We sent them a clear message that we are not interested in their proposal," Shacknai said Monday.
Mentor offered to swap one of its shares for every 0.62 share of Medicis, a premium of about 25 percent above the price of Medicis' stock on Nov. 18. The offer boosted Medicis stock to $31.57 Monday, up $3.82, or 14 percent, for the day.
Shacknai said Medicis remains committed to pursuing the Inamed acquisition. In addition to its breast-augmentation products and stomach bands for obesity treatment, Inamed has a botulinum toxin product called Relaxin that is close to being approved for use in the United States.
"Relaxin's the prize," said Julie Hoggatt, an analyst who follows Medicis for Variant Research Corp. in Boca Raton, Fla. She said the only botulinum toxin treatment now approved in the United States is Allergan Inc.'s drug Botox.
Hoggatt noted that Relaxin would be stepping into a $1.1 billion a year market.
"Everyone wants a dermal filler and a botulinum toxin product," she said.
On Nov. 15, Allergan, which is based in Irvine, Calif., made an unsolicited $3.2 billion bid for Inamed that topped Medicis' offer by $450 million and derailed its yearlong attempt to acquire the company.
Shacknai said Medicis would not rule out increasing its offer. Hoggatt, however, believes Medicis' deal for Inamed is dead.
"They are going to go with the money," Hoggatt said of Inamed stockholders.
But there is a wrinkle. The Allergan deal for Inamed does not include Relaxin, which is being licensed from a European company. Hoggatt said it is unlikely the Federal Trade Commission would allow Allergan to offer the only two botulinum toxin treatments in the United States.
Allergan's interest in Inamed is for its implants, obesity treatments and a dermal filler product it has in the pipeline.
If unsuccessful in its bid to acquire Inamed, Shacknai said Medicis would go after the rights to Relaxin.
It won't be alone. If Relaxin is approved for use in this country, Hoggatt expects there to be considerable interest from companies such as Johnson & Johnson. But she said Medicis has a good shot at getting it based on its strong relationships with dermatologists.
Medicis employs about 300 people at its Scottsdale headquarters.
Reach the reporter at max.jarman@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-7351.
gigi/Karen..
