Bristol-Myers to acquire hepatitis C oral drug developer Inhibitex for $2.5 bn

Global biopharma company, Bristol-Myers Squibb over the weekend said that it will buy Inhibitex Inc, for about $2.5 billion in cash in order to expand its broad hepatitis C portfolio.

Under the transaction that has been approved by the boards of both companies, Bristol-Myers will pay $26 per share in cash, a massive 163 per cent premium to Inhibitex's closing price of $9.87 on 6 January.

Stock holders holding approximately 17 per cent of Inhibitex's stock have agreed to tender their shares to the offer.

Inhibitex is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing products to prevent and treat serious infectious diseases, with primary focus being on the development of nucleotide / nucleoside analogs for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV).

The Alpharetta, Georgia-based company's clinical-stage pipeline includes three Phase 2 development programs, INX-189, a nucleotide polymerase inhibitor in development for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C infections, FV-100, a nucleoside inhibitor in development for the reduction of shingles-associated pain, and Aurexis, a humanised monoclonal antibody in development for the treatment of serious S. aureus bloodstream infections.