U.S. investment firm Royalty Pharma on Wednesday stood by its offer to acquire Irish drugmaker Elan, which has rejected the approach, and said it was ready to move quickly and could complete due diligence within 20 days.The firm is scheduling meetings with 10 to 15 of Elan's largest shareholders, including Johnson & Johnson, as well as a few smaller investors, over the next several days, Pablo Legorreta, chief executive of Royalty Pharma, told Reuters. This week alone, the firm is meeting with nearly a dozen shareholders, with the first taking place on Wednesday."We are very confident that our offer gives Elan shareholders a very attractive alternative," Legorreta said. "We really need access to the books to do due diligence."Royalty Pharma made a $6.6 billion approach last week after Elan announced last month a $3.2 billion plan to sell its 50 percent stake in multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri to its U.S. partner, Biogen Idec.
Biogen Idec Inc. (Biogen Idec) is a global biotechnology company. Shares of BIIB fell by 0.08% or $-0.13/share to $171.18. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $116.44 and as high as $173.72. On average, 1375710 shares of BIIB exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 532125.
Johnson & Johnson is a holding company. The Company, along with its subsidiaries, is engaged in the research and development, manufacture and sale of a range of products in the healthcare field. Shares of JNJ fell by 0.33% or $-0.26/share to $77.40. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $61.71 and as high as $77.71. On average, 10278400 shares of JNJ exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 2962015.
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