Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline tipped to move for Serono

Speculation that Novartis may now make a bid for Serono have increased as the company ruled out a takeover of Berna Biotech.

Novartis, which first showed an interest in the vaccine maker Berna in December, announced it would not be making a move to acquire the firm after completing an assessment of the potential benefits and risks.

Berna is now likely to face acquisition from the Dutch firm Crucell with an offer thought to be worth around $450 million.

Speculation over GlaxoSmithKline making a bid for Serono has arisen as a takeover would boost the firm’s capacity for biologics manufacturing and add resources in infertility and multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments. Serono’s Geneva research and development centre was originally bought from GlaxoSmithKline.

The Financial Times reported GlaxoSmithKline was considering a bid for a 60 per cent stake in the firm.

A deal for Serono could be the biggest pharmaceutical merger since Sanofi-Synthelabo bought Aventis in 2004 for $72.7 billion. The Swiss biotech firm is thought to be worth around $12 billion.

Other possible bidders for Serono have been suggested as Sanofi-Aventis and Pfizer.

The deadline for a decision on the sale has been set for the end of January.

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