Celgene Continues Its Buying Spree

by | Jul 20, 2015 3:37 pm | Biotechnology

Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) made yet another major acquisition last week, picking up Receptos, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCPT) for $7.2 billion. The acquisition significantly boosts Celgene’s Inflammation and Immunology portfolio with the addition of Receptos’ lead product candidate, Ozanimod, which is in Phase 3 tests to treat immune-inflammatory indications in irritable bowel syndrome and relapsing multiple sclerosis. This is Celgene’s biggest deal in 2015, out of the six it has announced. So far, the drug maker has splurged nearly $8.8 billion on acquisitions, collaborations with other drug makers and licensing deals. Read More »

Juno Therapeutics Teams up with Celgene

by | Jul 6, 2015 2:23 pm | Other Services

Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) made a big bet on a small company last week, when it agreed to pay nearly $1 billion to Juno Therapeutics (NASDAQ: JUNO) for a 10-year collaboration on immunotherapies targeting cancer and autoimmune diseases. The real price is $999,803,496 and consists of an upfront payment of $150 million, and the purchase of 9.1 million shares of JUNO common stock at a price of $93.00 per share. That’s a pretty generous offer, considering Juno’s stock price was bumping along around $54.00 late last week. Juno will be responsible for research and development in North America, and retains commercialization rights there. Celgene will be responsible for development and... Read More »

MedImmune Parcels Out an Investgational Blood Cancer Candidate

by | Apr 20, 2015 4:13 pm | Biotechnology

Last week MedImmune Ltd., the biotech arm of AstraZeneca plc (NYSE: AZN), announced two placements for its investigational compound, MEDI4736. The first announcement was with Juno Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: JUNO), which signed an non-exclusive agreement to test its own investigational CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell candidates with MedImmune’s programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) immune check point inhibitor, MEDI4736, aiming for a combination therapy. No financial details were disclosed on that, but the next day, MedImmune announced a deal with a Swiss subsidiary of Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG), worth an upfront payment of $450 million from Celgene, to investigate... Read More »

Celgene’s Busy Week

by | Apr 4, 2015 4:38 pm | Pharmaceuticals

It wasn’t until the final week in April that Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) took the title of top deal maker for the month. The single acquisition on the books as of April 24 was its collaboration with MedImmune (NYSE: AZN) on its anti-PD-L1 inhibitor MEDI4736, with $450 million in cash upfront. On April 27, CELG announced it would pay another $110 million for Quantical Pharmaceuticals, followed two days later by two smaller licensing deals with Northern Biologics ($30 million) and Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AGIO) for $10 million. Then on April 30, it reported very rosy results for the first quarter, with total revenue up 20%, to $2.08 billion, and much, much more. Read More »