Shares of Amgen Inc. fell 1.0% in premarket trading Monday after the biotechnology company said it agreed to buy Celgene Corp.’s psoriasis treatment Otezla for $13.4 billion in cash.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said the previously announced decision to Otezla was part of the regulatory approval process for the pending acquisition of Celgene. Shares of Celgene surged 3.7% in premarket trading and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. shot up 5.2%. Amgen said the deal will immediately add to adjusted earnings per share, and will not interrupt the deployment of its capital allocation priorities.
“The acquisition of Otezla offers a unique opportunity for Amgen to provide patients an innovative oral therapy for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis that fits squarely within our portfolio and complements our Enbrel(R) and AMGEVITA(R) brands,” said Amgen Chief Executive Robert Bradway.
Amgen’s stock has gained 2.3% year to date while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 9.9%.
By Tomi Kilgore
Source: MarketWatch
Airnov provides critical healthcare industries with high-quality, controlled atmosphere packaging, to protect their products from moisture and oxygen. The business has manufacturing facilities in the USA, France, China and India and employs around 700 people.
Takeda of Japan has partnered with Hong Kong-based Hutchmed, gaining the commercial rights to colorectal cancer drug fruquintinib outside of China for $400 million up front, plus $730 million in potential milestone payments. Takeda also will help develop fruquintinib, which can be applied to subtypes of refractory metastatic colorectal cancer, regardless of biomarker status, the companies said.
On April 3, Scangos, who’s been chief executive officer at Vir since the start of 2017, will hand over the reins to Marianne De Backer, Ph.D. De Backer comes over from Bayer, where she currently heads up pharmaceutical strategy, business development and licensing. Alongside her CEO appointment, De Backer is set to join Vir’s board of directors, the company said Wednesday.
