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U.S. drugmaker Amgen Inc. said it is buying a roughly 20% stake in a Chinese biotechnology company for $2.7 billion in cash, further demonstrating China’s emergence as a key market for foreign pharmaceutical companies. Amgen said BeiGene Ltd., a Beijing-based company focused on oncology, is going to commercialize certain Amgen treatments in China and will split those earnings or losses. […]
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Biotech stocks are some of the most exciting investments on Wall Street. When one company develops a successful treatment for a complex condition, shares can surge overnight and attract buyout interest from Big Pharma. But when a drug trial fails, it can go down in flames. Case in point: Biotech giant Biogen BIIB, -4.48% imploded roughly 30% on Thursday after announcing […]
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It’s been a dreary start of the year for initial public offerings in the U.S. The average share price increase for the 16 companies that went public this year was only 3.3 percent through Friday — and that’s factoring in the 52 percent first-day share pop for a biotech company that raised only $7 million. Nine of the companies closed […]
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A new proposal from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services would have Medicare cover FDA-approved CAR T-cell therapies, according to a Friday announcement from the agency. CAR T-cell therapy is a new form of cancer therapy that harnesses a patient’s own immune system to fight the disease. There are currently only two approved CAR-T cell therapies, Novartis’s NVS, +0.65% […]
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Shares of biotech Pain Therapeutics Inc. PTIE, -8.05% fell 18% Tuesday after the company released a statement railing against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s refusal to approve drug candidate Remoxy, an extended-release form of oxycodone that the company says has abuse-deterrent qualities. Pain Therapeutics accused the FDA of making “math errors, material mistakes or misrepresentations” during its June advisory committee […]
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Shares of Dublin-based Allergan Plc AGN, +0.73% rose 0.8% on Tuesday morning after hedge-fund firms Appaloosa LP and Senator Investment Group reiterated their calls for the drug company to separate its CEO and chairman roles. The firms had previously asked the board to separate the roles in separate letters sent in April, May and June. The CEO and chairman roles […]
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Alkermes PLC ALKS, +0.64% said late Friday that the Food and Drug Administration told the biotech drug maker that it is unable to approve one of its antidepressants at this time. Alkermes shares, which fell 4.8% after hours, had closed Friday up 0.6% at $33.08. The FDA said it was unable to approve the marketing application for the drug candidate […]
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On Thursday, most analysts could agree on one thing: Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s BMY, -14.11% agreement to acquire Celgene Corp. CELG, +21.85% is a very good thing for Celgene’s shareholders. Read: Bristol-Myers Squibb agrees to acquire Celgene for about $74 Billion Also: Boston Scientific’s latest deal is a good fit, analysts say “Celgene’s long-suffering investors are saved from their exposure to the […]
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Harpoon Therapeutics has filed for an initial public offering, seeking to sell $86.25 million worth of shares, according to a filing with regulators on Thursday. The biotech company is working on a class of T cell immunotherapy drugs called T cell engagers, proteins that direct a person’s own T cells to kill target cells, to treat cancer and other diseases. […]
Read more Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. IONS, -2.12% said late Thursday that Brett Monia will succeed Stanley Crooke as chief executive in a year. The drug development company said Monia, who is the current chief operating officer, will become CEO in January 2020, and Crooke will become executive chairman of Ionis’s board. Shares of Ionis, which were flat after hours, had closed down […]
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