Amgen Teams with CytomX
Oncology is driving some big deals, no question about it. More than 350 deals have had targets involved in some form of oncology program or drug since 2012. In the first week of October alone, we saw three deals targeting some form of oncology treatment. The one with the largest potential pay-off was announced between Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) and CytomX Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTMX). The deal has potential value of more than $1.5 billion. In this strategic collaboration, the companies will co-develop a CytomX Probody™ T-cell engaging bispecific against the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR), a highly validated oncology target expressed on multiple human cancer types. Probody... Read More »
Gilead Buys Kite Pharma to Diversify Portfolio
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) finally found a target worth pursuing. The pharmaceutical company, perhaps best known for its high-priced hepatitis-C drugs, Harvoni and Solvadi, placed its bets on Kite Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: KITE), hoping to cash in on the biotech’s promising technology for fighting cancer. Gilead announced the acquisition of Kite Pharma for $180.00 per share, valuing the company at approximately $11.9 billion. The price represents a 29% premium to Kite’s closing price on August 25, 2017. Kite Pharma is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes novel cancer immunotherapy products. It is developing a pipeline of engineered... Read More »Invitae Adds Reproductive Health Diagnostics
Just a month ago, we reported on molecular-diagnostics firm Invitae (NYSE: NVTA), and its interest in the eHealth sector, following the acquisition of two digital health companies. In July, the company set its sights on other laboratory companies and announced two more acquisitions. Invitae also separately announced that it will sell $73.5 million of its stock through a private placement to be led by existing investors with “significant” participation from multiple new investors, all unnamed. Invitae is one of the fastest growing genetic information companies in the United States, whose longer-term strategy is to aggregate most of the world’s genetic tests into a single service with... Read More »Health Care Deal Volume Slows in Q2:2017, As Dollar Volume Rises
Health care merger and acquisition activity slowed in the second quarter of 2017. Compared with the first quarter of 2017, deal volume decreased 15%, to 366 transactions. Deal volume was also lower compared with the same quarter the year before, down 14%. Combined spending in the second quarter reached $95.8 billion, an increase of 62% compared with the $59.1 billion spent in the previous quarter, according to HealthCareMandA.com. Second quarter deal value was up 8% compared with the $88.7 billion spent in Q2:16. Health care services transactions accounted for 52% of the second quarter’s dollar volume, much higher than the 14% share reported in the first quarter, and the 19% share recorded... Read More »
