Credit Markets Aren't Stopping Health Care M&A

Tight credit markets haven't stopped health care M&A, and last week offered up another interesting chapter that involved three long picks from the Biotech Select portfolio.

Merck(MRK Quote) said it will link up with its cholesterol drug partner Schering-Plough(SGP Quote), and Roche finally -- finally -- found mutual terms with Genentech(DNA Quote), one of those long positions.

Biotech Select portfolio manager Adam Feuerstein says Genentech's blessing is enough to convince the minority shareholders to approve the deal, but what will Roche have to do to get Genentech's talent to stay?

Meanwhile, two other long picks in the Biotech Select portfolio made merger news, as well. Gilead(GILD Quote) said Thursday that it is picking upCV Therapeutics(CVTX Quote) in a $1.4 billion deal.

Roche-Genentech was a long time coming, but just one of many matches made in health care recently. Not so long ago, Eli Lilly(LLY Quote) bought ImClone andPfizer(PFE Quote) recently said it would acquire Wyeth(WYE Quote).