IG O R SEM IL ETOV
NEWS OF THE WEEK
METHANE FROM ARCTIC OCEAN CLIMATE SCIENCE: Amount of the greenhouse gas seeping from undersea deposits is much greater than expected
F Environmental oceanic researchers sample methane levels in the Arctic Ocean.
AR MORE OF the greenhouse gas methane is
seeping from seabed deposits in the Arctic shelf into the atmosphere than previously thought, a new study shows. The finding not only adds to growing evidence that Arctic oceanic outgassing is an important source of atmospheric methane but also adds a new variable for climate-change modelers as they consider the potential effects of oceanic warming. Natalia Shakhova and Igor Semiletov, research professors at the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and their colleagues spent more than five years monitoring dissolved methane in the water column of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, as well as methane venting from the ocean to the atmosphere. They found that the amounts of outgassed methane are greater than was thought to
ASTELLAS PRESSES BID FOR OSI PHARMACEUTICALS: Japanese firm hopes
to add oncology to its U.S. operations
A
ROCH E
OSI’s cancer drug, Tarceva, is marketed by Roche.
STELLAS PHARMA launched a hostile bid last
week to acquire OSI Pharmaceuticals, a Melville, N.Y.-based biotechnology firm specializing in oncology therapies. At $52.00 per share, Astellas’ allcash offer represents a 40% premium over the closing price of OSI’s stock on Feb. 26, for a deal valued at $3.5 billion. Astellas’ bid follows a Feb. 12 meeting between the two firms at which OSI rejected the $52.00-per-share offer, stating that it “very significantly undervalues OSI.” Astellas’ overture last week to OSI shareholders was accompanied by a lawsuit enjoining OSI and its directors from interfering with the bid. The offer is scheduled to expire on March 31. Astellas says the companies have been sparring over a possible acquisition for 13 months. OSI currently has one drug on the market, Tarceva, which it codeveloped with WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG
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be emitted by the entire world’s oceans (Science 2010, 327, 1246). Methane is the third most prevalent greenhouse gas and has been known to seep from seabed deposits accumulated in the East Siberian Arctic Shelf. Those methane deposits were previously protected by a thick layer of frozen permafrost. But after that permafrost was submerged by shallow Arctic seas due to sea-level rises at the end of the last ice age, it has been continuously, slowly warming. As a result, the permafrost is losing its ability to preserve the methane deposits. Whether oceanic warming due to climate change might hasten thawing of the permafrost and thus methane flux into the atmosphere is an important, as yet unanswered question. Shakhova notes that to learn whether the rate of oceanic methane venting is increasing, scientists need to continue monitoring the area. Ted Schuur, ecosystem ecology professor at the University of Florida, Gainesville, calls the work an “important advance,” because it extends findings that have been made on land out into the ocean. The discovery doesn’t change the current methane budget of Earth but rather changes the gas’s distribution picture, Schuur notes. But “anytime you have a lot of carbon coming from a place that nobody expected,” that affects climate science conceptually and affects how models work, he adds.—ELIZABETH WILSON
Roche. The Swiss firm sells the product. OSI attributed revenues of $358 million, approximately 80% of its total revenues in 2009, to Tarceva. Astellas is one of several Japanese drug firms that have been looking for acquisitions in the U.S. in recent months. Last year, for example, Takeda Pharmaceuticals paid roughly $75 million to acquire IDM Pharma, and Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma agreed to pay $2.6 billion for Sepracor. Astellas operates at seven locations in North America. The acquisition of OSI would add oncology to its U.S.- and Canada-based efforts in cardiology, dermatology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, transplants, and urology. OSI’s rebuff of Astellas and the resulting hostile bid have sparked speculation that a “white knight” bidder may emerge. Published reports suggest that Roche may challenge Astellas. In a note to investors, health care stock research firm Leerink Swann said an offer to acquire OSI is not surprising given that the biotech firm would fit well with a number of possible buyers. On the basis of comparable deals, Leerink says, an offer better than the current one may be achievable. The investment company names Pfizer as a possible suitor, citing the big drug firm’s work on a treatment for non-small-cell lung cancer. Celgene, which is completing Phase III trials for a drug to treat small-cell lung cancer and could use OSI’s commercial infrastructure, is another possibility, according to Leerink.—RICK MULLIN
MARCH 8, 2010
