Achillion Pharmaceuticals Less Attractive Post Johnson and Johnson/Alios BioPharma Deal

Following the announcement of the Johnson and Johnson

$1.75 billion cash deal for privately held Alios BioPharma, shares of competitor Achillion Pharmaceuticals

are trading lower today. Wells Fargo analyst Brian Abrahams notes that the Alios deal likely reduces interest in Achillion as a takeover target by Johnson and Johnson, citing similarities in the Alios and Achillion drug pipelines. Deutsche Bank analyst Alethia Young, however, came to the defense and reiterated a Buy rating on ACHN this morning, saying that the firm still views Achillion as an important strategic asset, especially given that the Alios program is far away commercially even if it moves into clinical trial. Shares of ACHN are trading down 5.83 percent at 10.18