Forest Labs Gains on Actavis' Buyout Offer

Options-related trading and weak economic data contributed to the generally flat performance of major Wall Street Indices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 fell just 0.1 percent. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.5 percent. Biotech continues to outperform the general indices as dealmaking and positive clinical trial results moved shares upward. The Burrill Biotech Select Index gained 3.8 percent for the week and is up 20.3 percent year to date.

Shares of Forest Laboratories gained 35.7 percent after announcing that it had reached a deal to sell itself to the global specialty pharmaceutical Actavis for $25 billion and there was speculation that other drugmakers, including Teva Pharmaceuticals, Valeant, or Mylan, might offer competing bids.

Shares of Onconova Therapeutics were hammered after it reported that its experimental therapeutic rigosertib failed to meet its primary endpoint in a late-stage study to treat patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes who had had a prior therapy. Shares of the biotech ended the week down 37.5 percent.

Actavis, the world's third-largest generic pharmaceutical company, has reached a deal to buy Forest Laboratories for $25 billion in cash and stock, bolstering its geographic reach and expanding its portfolio of generic and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals.

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