(Reuters) - Shares of Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc rose as much as 51 percent on Wednesday after Bloomberg News reported the company rejected a $3.5 billion unsolicited takeover bid from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co .
Bristol-Myers proposed an acquisition at $22 a share in a letter to AMYLIN (AMLN.NQ) which the board turned down last month, according to Bloomberg, which cited two people with knowledge of the matter.
Bloomberg said Bristol-Myers has not approached Amylin, which makes the diabetes drugs Byetta and Bydureon, since the rejection. A Bristol-Myers spokeswoman said the company "does not comment on market rumors or speculation." A spokeswoman for Amylin was not immediately available for comment.
Amylin has been considered a possible takeover target for some time, with at least one analyst recently speculating AstraZeneca Plc
Tim Anderson an analyst at Sanford Bernstein said recently he believed an Amylin acquisition would fit well and work financially assuming AstraZeneca paid a 30 percent premium, which would have valued Amylin at $4.5 billion.
The diabetes sector is one of the fastest-growing in the drug industry due to rising rates of obesity. More than 300 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes, including nearly 26 million Americans. They run a high risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and limb loss.
Amylin's shares were up 45 percent to $22.27 in mid-morning trading on Nasdaq. Earlier in the session they rose to a year-high $23.26.
(Reporting By Toni Clarke; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Tim Dobbyn)
