Elmendorf Ryan assumed Washington duties for Cubist Phamaceuticals just ahead of today's blockbuster announcement that Merck is acquiring the Lexington, Mass-based antibiotics maker for $9.5B, which includes $1.1B in debt assumption.
Merck's $102 per-share offering represents a 35 percent premium over the average last close of the last five trading days.
Cubist CEO Michael Bonney said the deal would provide funds to accelerate product development and expand global reach via Merck's robust worldwide commercial platform.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Cubist is one of the few companies that specializes in treating infectious diseases in hospital settings.
The antibiotics market is expected to boom as resistance to traditional treatments grows and hospitals step up efforts to reduce infections.
Merck has declared acute hospital care as one of its four growth areas.
Elmendorf Ryan, a Democratic firm, has assigned Kristina Kennedy, a former legislative director to Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), and Stacey Alexander, ex-staffer to Congressman Jim Matheson (D-UT) and APCO Worldwide alum, handle Cubist for healthcare reform and Medicare issues.
Cubist also works for the Nickles Group, the firm of former Republican Senator Don Nickels of Oklahoma.
It pays a $60K quarterly retainer to Nickles Group.
Lo Isidro, senior director at Real Chemistry with more than a decade of strategic communications and PA experience, has joined Narrative Strategies.
Nelson Fernandez, former North American chair of APCO Worldwide and managing director of Burson-Marsteller, has joined Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires as director of communications and PA.
Lilit Bargar, who was most recently an EVP in the healthcare practice at Weber Shandwick, comes on board at GCI Health as EVP, corporate practice lead.
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