It was a busy week for the biotech sector with several companies presenting data at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). Meanwhile, yet another acquisition agreement was announced: Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CBST) is set be acquired by Merck in the first quarter of 2015.
Recap of the Week’s Most Important Stories
1. Cubist’s shares shot up 35.3% on news that the company will be acquired by pharma major, Merck, in a deal valued at about $9.5 billion. The agreement marks growing interest in companies focusing on anti-infectives (Read more: Cubist Shoots Up on $9.5 Billion Buyout Offer from Merck). Although Cubist received an unfavorable ruling in its Cubicin patent litigation against Hospira, Merck said that it remains committed to the acquisition, which is slated to go through in the first quarter of 2015.
2. Several companies like Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG),Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN),ImmunoGen Inc (NASDAQ:IMGN), Agios Pharm (NASDAQ:AGIO) (Read more: Agios Reports Encouraging Data on Leukemia Drug) and Pharmacyclics Inc (NASDAQ:PCYC) among others presented data at the annual meeting of ASH.
Another company that stood out at ASH is bluebird bio -- shares shot up a whopping 72.39% on encouraging early-stage data on LentiGlobin BB305 for the treatment of subjects with beta-thalassemia major and severe sickle cell disease.
3. Amgen gained earlier than expected FDA approval for its leukemia drug, Blincyto. Although the label comes with a boxed warning, approval came five months ahead of schedule . Amgen also successfully expanded the label of Xgeva, which can now be used for the treatment of hypercalcemia of malignancy refractory to bisphosphonate therapy.
4.Incyte's (NASDAQ:INCY) sole marketed product, Jakafi, gained approval for a rare and progressive blood cancer - polycythemia vera (PV) – in the U.S. This makes Jakafi the first and only FDA approved product for PV . The label expansion should boost Jakafi’s sales significantly. Incyte had another set of good news with the company and its partner, Eli Lilly, reporting positive late-stage results on their experimental rheumatoid arthritis treatment, baricitinib. Baricitinib is one of the most promising pipeline candidates for both Incyte and Lilly.
5. Array BioPharma Inc (NASDAQ:ARRY) shares shot up 14.3% with the company set to regain rights to its late-stage MEK inhibitor, binimetinib, from Novartis. Array stands to receive up to $85 million once the deal closes.
Performance
Over the last five trading days, Biogen Idec Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) was the highest gainer with shares increasing 5.89%. A major part of this gain was due to encouraging Alzheimer’s disease data presented by the company earlier. Alexion was the only major biotech to see a decline (down 0.50%) in share price during this period.
Vertex (NASDAQ:VRTX)recorded the highest gain (61.24%) among major biotechs over the last six months.
Overall, the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index was up 2.62% over the last five trading days (See the last biotech stock roundup here: Avanir to be Acquired by Japanese Firm, Biogen Scores in Alzheimer's Study).
What's Next in the Biotech World?
A response from the FDA regarding the approval status of Cubist’s anti-infective, Zerbaxa, should be out by Dec 21.