Pharma Giants Prepare To Duke It Out Over Cancer Drug Discovered At UCLA
The drug -- called Xtandi -- has provoked a takeover battle over San Francisco biotech firm Medivation, the company that sells it. The fight highlights how lucrative the market for new cancer treatments has become.
Los Angeles Times:
Cancer Drug Discovered By UCLA Sets Off Takeover Fight Among Biotech Companies
A high-priced prostate cancer drug discovered at UCLA is at the center of a multibillion-dollar takeover battle that has several giant pharmaceutical firms eyeing the purchase of San Francisco biotech firm Medivation. Medivation sells the drug Xtandi for about $129,000 a year. Earlier this year, two nonprofit groups asked the federal government to allow other companies to sell the drug at lower prices. The groups argued that the federal government had a right under the law to allow lower-priced competition because UCLA scientists had used taxpayer-funded grants to discover Xtandi. (Petersen, 7/6)