5 Biotech Buyout Candidates for 2018

With the Republican tax plan steaming through both houses of Congress, 2018 is shaping up to be a banner year in terms of consolidation for the biotechnology industry. Biopharmaceutical heavyweights Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN), Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), after all, each have stately sums of cash overseas that could become available if this proposed tax reform becomes reality. 

Each of these cash-rich pharma giants also has a glaring weakness in their underlying product portfolio that could be shored up by additional M&A activity. Amgen is dealing with the loss of exclusivity for its blood-conditioning medicines Neupogen and Epogen, Gilead Sciences is experiencing a rapid decline in its hepatitis C franchise and facing new threats to its dominance in HIV, J&J's blockbuster arthritis drug Remicade is battling generic competition now, and Pfizer's top-selling pain medication, Lyrica, is near the end of its patent life as well.

With the Republican tax bill and the strong demand for new growth products in mind, I think Biogen (NASDAQ: BIIB), BioMarin (NASDAQ: BMRN), bluebird bio (NASDAQ: BLUE), Geron Corp. (NASDAQ: GERN), and Sage Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SAGE) are all likely to get taken out in 2018. Here's why.

Continue reading

Source: Fool.com