Cambridge, MA-based Biogen Idec reports today that it’s upping its bid to buy Facet Biotech by 21 percent, after the smaller firm’s board rejected Biogen’s earlier buyout offer in October.
Biogen (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]) said it would pay $17.50 per share in cash for Redwood City, CA-based Facet, valuing the company at about $438.7 million, and increasing Biogen’s previous offer by $3 per share. The purchase of Facet (NASDAQ:[[ticker:FACT]]) would give Biogen full ownership of daclizumab, an antibody for multiple sclerosis that the two companies are developing together.
Biogen is calling this latest bid to acquire Facet its “best-and-final offer.” In addition to daclizumab, which is in mid-stage clinical trials, Facet’s other key asset includes an antibody drug for solid tumors, volociximab, in Phase II clinical trials. The buyout would build on Biogen’s market-leading franchise for multiple sclerosis treatments, which includes its marketed drugs interferon (Avonex) and natalizumab (Tysabri).
