The Daily Biotech Pulse: Amgen-AstraZeneca, Boston Scientific Opens Wallet, Advaxis Offering

Here's a roundup of top developments in the biotech space over the last 24 hours.

Scaling the Peaks

(Stocks hitting 52-week highs on Sept. 6)

  • Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc ARWR(announced positive Phase 1 data for its hepatitis B treatment ARO-HBV)
  • Insulet Corporation PODD
  • Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Ltd KNSA
  • Repligen Corporation RGEN

Down In The Dumps

(Stocks hitting 52-week lows on Sep. 6)

  • Amicus Therapeutics, Inc. FOLD
  • Chimerix Inc CMRX
  • Constellation Pharmaceuticals Inc CNST
  • Kala Pharmaceuticals Inc KALA
  • REALM THERAPEUTICS ADR RLM
  • XBiotech Inc XBIT

Stocks In Focus

Amgen-AstraZeneca Combo's Asthma Drug Gets Breakthrough Designation Status

Amgen, Inc. AMGN and AstraZeneca plc (ADR) AZN announced that their telepelumab to treat patients with severe asthma without an eosinophilic phenotype has been granted breakthrough designation status by the FDA.

The status was accorded based on the Phase 2b PATHWAY study that showed a significant reduction in the annual asthma exacerbation rate compared with placebo. The candidate is currently in the Phase 3 PATHFINDER clinical trial program.

Dicerna Prices Follow-On Offering

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Inc DRNA priced its underwritten public offering of 7.68 million shares at $13.02, the level at which they closed Thursday following a 18.11 percent plunge in reaction to the announcement concerning the offering.

The stock slid an incremental 1.31 percent to $12.85 in after-hours trading.

See Also: The Week Ahead In Biotech: Conferences, PDUFA Dates, Clinical Trials And Earnings

Advaxis To Offer Common Stock And Warrants

Advaxis, Inc. ADXS intends to offer and sell shares of its common stock, with each share to be sold together in a fixed combination with a warrant to purchase common stock. The company said it will use the proceeds for expanding its product pipeline and for other general corporate purposes.

The stock slumped 18.18 percent to $1.17 in after-hours trading.

Boston Scientific To Buy Augmenix

Boston Scientific Corporation BSX announced a deal to buy privately-held Augmenix, the developer of the SpaceOAR System, a therapy to reduce side effects men experience after prostate cancer radiotherapy.

The deal provides for Boston Scientific paying an upfront cash payment of $500 million, and up to $100 million for reaching sales-based milestones.

Zealand Pharma to Sell Royalty and Milestones for $205 Million

ZEALAND PHARMA/S ADR ZEAL has agreed to sell future royalty streams and $85 million of potential commercial milestones for Soliqua, Suliqua and Lyxumia to Royalty Pharma for $205 million, with the sales proceeds realizable following the close of the transaction expected later this month.

Zealand also said it will redeem outstanding Royalty bonds valued at $24.7 million after which it will be debt free. The transaction will immediately provide substantial value and secure funding for the development of its fully-owned product pipeline.

The stock rose 7.86 percent to $15.50 in after-hours trading.

On The Radar

The FDA is set to rule on GlaxoSmithKline plc (ADR) GSK's sBLA Mepolizumab for treating Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, with an eosinophilic phenotype. A FDA committee, which met in late July to discuss the sBLA, had voted against the approval by a 16-3 margin.

Posted In: BiotechNewsOfferingsFDATop StoriesTrading Ideas
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!

Loading...