In line with expectations, Facet Biotech Corporation’s (FACT) board of directors unanimously recommended that its stockholders should reject the unsolicited conditional tender offer from Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB), which is seeking to acquire all the outstanding shares of Facet Biotech common stock for $14.50 per share in cash. The board has determined that the offer is inadequate and not in the best interests of the company’s stockholders.  As a reminder, Biogen launched a hostile bid in September to acquire Facet for $14.50 per share by taking its offer directly to Facet’s shareholders. The deal is valued at approximately $356 million. Biogen had initially approached Facet with an offer of $15 per share on Aug 17, 2009. However, Facet did not accept the offer as the company doubted its benefit for its shareholders. Soon thereafter, Facet entered into a collaboration with Trubion Pharmaceuticals (TRBN), a move ...

Yesterday, Biogen Idec (BIIB) reiterated its intention to acquire its development partner, Facet Biotech (FACT) for $14.50 per share, even though Facet turned down the offer saying it was not in the best interests of its shareholders. The offer price represents a 64% premium to Facet’s closing price on September 3, 2009. The deal is valued at approximately $356 million. Biogen had initially approached Facet with an offer of $15 per share on August 17, 2009. However, Facet did not accept the offer as the company believed that the offer price was not in the best interests of its shareholders. Soon thereafter, Facet entered into a collaboration with Trubion Pharmaceuticals (TRBN), a move that was criticized by Biogen. According to Biogen, the Trubion deal led to a reduction in Facet’s value with the company’s stock price reducing by 22% since the announcement of the ...

* Economic bellwether FedEx (NYSE:FDX) reported earnings of 64 cents a share, ex-items, beating estimates of 51 cents on a 20% drop in revenues to $7.85 billion from $9.87 billion

* According to a WSJ report, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has reportedly delivered a letter to congress advising of plans to repay funds borrowed under TARP sometime tomorrow.  JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) are expected to repay their borrowings as early as today

* According to a WSJ report, Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE:SNY) is seeking a mega-deal in the US, which could include such possible candidates as: Bristol-Meyers-Squibb (NYSE:BMY), Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN), Allergan (NYSE:AGN), or Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB)

* Nucor (NYSE:NUE) said it expects a second-quarter loss of 55 cents to 65 cents a share, versus estimates of a 69 cent loss, citing benefits from cost cuttings and recent strengthening in order entry

* Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) received an analyst upgrade from Merrill Lynch, expecting strong margin

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The FDA has published a table with the names of products and potential signals of serious risks and/or new safety information identified for these products during 1Q08 in the AERS database. The FDA notes that patients should not stop taking these medications and should consult their prescriber with any questions as the agency will investigate each of the claims further before taking action or issuing more definitive statements on the reported concerns. Some highlights from this table of products that are sold by public-traded pharma and biotech companies are listed below in the following format: active ingredient (brand name) - company(ies) - new safety information reported. Duloxetine (Cymbalta) - Eli Lilly (LLY) - Urinary retention Heparin - Baxter (BAX) & APP Pharma (APPX) - Anaphylactic-type reactions Lapatinib (Tykerb) - GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) – Liver toxicity Lenalidomide (Revlimid) - Celgene (CELG) – ...