2014年12月7日讯 /生物谷BIOON/ --今年8月美国制药巨头默沙东（Merck & Co）大手笔38.5亿美元全现金收购Idenix制药扩充丙肝资产，意在开发短至4周的新一代全口服丙肝鸡尾酒疗法，与吉利德（Gilead）、百时美施贵宝（BMS）争夺丙肝治疗的下一个前沿阵地。
本周五，纽约时报（NYT）爆出，据可靠消息，默沙东正与抗生素巨头Cubist洽谈收购事宜，该笔交易或最早于下周公布，交易价超过70亿美元。知情人士表示，默沙东可能会以每股100美元溢价33%收购Cubist，使得该笔交易价达到75亿美元。不过，目前尚不清楚默沙东是全现金或股权支付抑或组合支付。
周五，总部位于美国马萨诸塞州的Cubist股价收盘于74.36亿美元，市值约为57亿美元。但在纳斯达克股市盘后交易中股价飙升22%至91.25亿美元。截止周五收盘，Cubist股价在过去3年已翻番，与默沙东持平。目前，双方均未在正常工作时间之外发表评论。
今年10月，受抗生素达托霉素（Cubicin）强劲销售的推动，Cubist第三季度销售额增长16%。抗生素Cubicin是该公司的重磅产品，2013年全球销售额超过10亿美元。今年6月，Cubist抗生素新品Sivextro也获得了FDA批准，此外，FDA还将于12月21日就该公司另一种抗生素CXA-201（ceftolozane/tazobactam[他唑巴坦]）做出最终审查决定。
去年7月，Cubist耗资16亿美元收购另外2家抗生素制药商Optimer和Trius，进一步扩充资产，并增强在全球抗生素领域的地位。据爆料，当时英国2大制药巨头阿斯利康（AZN）和葛兰素史克（GSK）、日本制药巨头安斯泰来（Astellas）均意欲与Cubist争夺Optimer。
英文原文：Merck in talks to acquire Cubist Pharmaceuticals for more than $7 billion: NYT
(Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc is in talks to acquire Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc for more than $7 billion in a deal that could be announced as early as next week, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing people briefed on the matter.
Merck will likely pay roughly $100 a share for Cubist, valuing the company that makes drugs to fight superbugs, in the range of $7.5 billion, the people said.
Merck could pay a 33 percent premium for Cubist, the sources told the newspaper, but it was not clear if it would pay for Cubist shares with cash, stock or a combination of the two.
Lexington, Massachusetts-based Cubist is valued at about $5.7 billion as of its Friday close of $74.36.
The antibiotic maker's shares rose about 22.7 percent to $91.25 on the Nasdaq in extended trade. Up to Friday's close, the stock had nearly doubled over the last three years. Merck's shares were flat.
Both companies were unavailable for comment outside of regular business hours.
Cubist reported a 16 percent jump in third-quarter sales in October, driven by strong sales of its antibiotic Cubicin, which generated global sales of more than $1 billion last year.
The company received U.S. regulatory approval for its antibiotic Sivextro in June. It awaits an FDA decision on another antibiotic, ceftolozane/tazobactam, on Dec. 21.
In June, Merck acquired Idenix Pharmaceuticals for $3.85 billion, to boost its hepatitis C drug portfolio.
(Reporting by Natalie Grover and Siddharth Cavale in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)