MYOGEN TO BECOME GILEAD SUBSIDIARY IN $2.5 BILLION DEAL

Gilead Sciences is seeking to beef up its drug pipeline and its emphasis on treatments for pulmonary conditions, announcing Oct. 2 it will acquire Myogen for $2.5 billion. Under the terms of the deal, which calls for Gilead to purchase all outstanding Myogen stock for $52.50 per share, Myogen will become a subsidiary of Gilead.

Executives at Gilead have high hopes for Myogen's lead product candidate, ambrisentan, John Martin, Gilead's president and CEO, said. Ambrisentan, intended for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), could have important clinical benefits over existing PAH therapies, he said. The company expects to file a new drug application for ambrisentan potentially by the end of the year. GlaxoSmithKline holds rights to the product outside the U.S.

Martin expects the merger to further Gilead's "growing focus on pulmonology, as initially established through our recent acquisition of Corus Pharma," he said. Myogen also recently initiated a Phase III study of darusentan, for the potential treatment of resistant hypertension, and is collaborating with Novartis on the identification of disease-modifying drugs for the treatment of chronic heart failure and related cardiovascular disorders.

Pending conditions and approvals, the companies expect the tender offer period to close before the end of 2006.