Reports of a $18-billion bid by Shire, the specialty pharma company, for Swiss biotech firm Actelion, suggest that the European pharma deal-making flurry is far from over.
Both companies declined to comment on a report by The Sunday Times that Ireland-based Shire made an informal approach to Actelion. It seems unlikely that a deal is imminent – yet the talk was enough to send Actelion shares 7 percent higher and Shire around 2 percent lower in early trading on Monday.