Shares of Irvine drug maker Allergan Inc. rose Monday on news that regulators favorably reviewed its eyelash-growing drug as well as takeover speculation.
Allergan shares were up 3% in Monday trading before moderating and closing up 2% with a market value of $12 billion.
The company got a boost from news Friday that a panel of Food and Drug Administration advisers said an Allergan glaucoma drug that grows, thickens and lengthens eyelashes was safe and effective enough for cosmetic use.
Sean Lavin, a Lazard Capital Markets analyst, predicted in a research note that the FDA would approve bimatoprost, the active ingredient in Allergan’s Lumigan glaucoma drug, for eyelashes in the second half of 2009.
Allergan also has been the subject of takeover chatter in recent days.
An article on Seeking Alpha, an investor Web site, suggested that Allergan and rival Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. of Scottsdale could be takeover targets in the wake of Johnson & Johnson’s recently announced $1.1 billion deal to buy Santa Barbara-based Mentor Corp.
The article suggested that Pfizer Inc., a New York-based drug maker, could make a run at Allergan, something that author Daniel Jacome said “would immediately position the acquirer among the world’s leading ophthalmology companies.”
Stock guru Jim Cramer of the Street.com and CNBC fame also called for Pfizer to buy Allergan, saying on his Mad Money television program that Pfizer could use the growth from Allergan’s “Hollywood cosmetics” such as wrinkle reducer Botox, breast implants and the Lap-Band for weight loss surgery.
