Juno Therapeutics shares soared more than 50 percent in premarket trading after The Wall Street Journal reported the biotech company is in talks to be acquired by Celgene.
Shares of Juno rose $26.71 to $72.31 in premarket trading on Wednesday morning. The Seattle-based company had a market share of about $5.2 billion as of Tuesday.
Celgene is seeking to broaden its portfolio of blood-cancer drugs before Revlimid, its top-selling drug, loses its patent protection, The Journal noted. Juno’s approach is focused on developing treatments that use the body’s immune system to fight cancer.
The acquisition discussions could result in a deal within weeks, although it’s unclear how much Celgene would pay for Juno, The Journal added.
Source: CBS News
Colorcon Ventures, the corporate venture fund of Colorcon Inc., has invested in VeriSIM Life, a San Francisco-based startup with a digital bio-simulation platform that accelerates drug development and reduces animal testing.
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Sanofi has ended a long-running alliance with Sangamo Therapeutics to develop genetic medicines for inherited blood disorders, among them an experimental sickle cell disease therapy that is in early clinical testing.
The two have been developing complex, personalized treatments, led by a sickle cell drug known as SAR445136. But Sanofi is now more interested in off-the-shelf approaches, which are meant to be more convenient.
