MedImmune Inc. / MEDI

About MedImmune Inc.

One MedImmune Way, Gaithersburg, Md. 20878
www.medimmune.com | 301-398-0000 | Founded: 1988

Industry: Biotechnology | Category: Top 100 Companies

In April, MedImmune accepted a $15.6 billion purchase offer from British drug company AstraZeneca, which said it planned to keep the company's operations in Maryland.
The sale came soon after MedImmune decided to give up on its go-it-alone strategy, saying it felt compelled to consider a deal after pressure from several large investors, including Carl C. Icahn.
One of the company's chief problems is that sales growth of Synagis showed signs of slowing. Synagis, which prevents some respiratory infections in babies, is a high-profile drug that contributes the most money to MedImmune's bottom line, so even the smallest problems with the product can cause big problems for the company. When sales of Synagis came in at $457 million in the fourth quarter, about $18 million more than the same period a year earlier, the company missed analysts' expectations by $21 million. "I think the results were tragic," Geoff Porges, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein and Co., said at the time.
The company continued its efforts to win approval to market its nasal flu vaccine, FluMist, to children younger than 5, a key component of its plan to turn around the troubled product.
Chief executive David M. Mott has made numerous changes to MedImmune's sales and marketing operations but investors got restless. Matrix Asset Advisors, which owns about 1 percent of MedImmune's shares, has asked the board three times to consider a sale, arguing that MedImmune's value to shareholders would be maximized if the company were sold to a large drugmaker willing to pay a premium for the firm's drugs and extensive pipeline.
Indeed, AstraZeneca's offer of $58 a share represented a 53.3 percent premium on MedImmune's share price at the time.
AstraZeneca executives said Mott will be in charge of the drug firm's biotech efforts going forward. The London company said it intends to capitalize on MedImmune's research and development capabilities, and as a sign of its commitment to the company, all of MedImmune's 2,500 employees are being offered a bonus to stay on.

Chairman: Wayne T. Hockmeyer

Chairman: Wayne T. Hockmeyer

2007 Financial Data

Total employees: 2,516 | Local employees: 1,377