Acquisitions and deals continue to be in focus with yet another pharma company announcing its intention to acquire a biotech company. Meanwhile, interest in the immuno-oncology area shows no signs of slowing down with another deal being announced.
Many companies also provided a peek at preliminary fourth quarter results and outlook and plans for 2015.
Recap of the Week’s Most Important Stories
1.NPS Pharmaceuticals’ (NPSP) rare-disease portfolio helped the company enter into an acquisition agreement with Shire under which NPSP will be acquired by Shire for about $5.2 billion – a hefty premium of 51% to NPS Pharma's unaffected share price on Dec 16, 2014. With this acquisition, Shire will add short bowel syndrome treatment, Gattex, to its portfolio (Read more: Shire to Acquire NPS Pharmaceuticals for $5.2B).
2. Several companies attended the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference and provided an update on their pipelines and business, preliminary fourth quarter results and guidance for 2015. Companies like Celgene (CELG) and Pharmacyclics (PCYC) stood out with both providing robust outlooks. Celgene guided well above expectations for 2015 with Revlimid set to continue with its strong performance (Read more: Celgene's Preliminary Results & 2015 Outlook Encouraging).
Another company that provided a bright outlook and better-than-expected fourth quarter preliminary results is Pharmacyclics. Imbruvica is expected to become a blockbuster in 2015 (Read more: Pharmacyclics Reports Preliminary Results and 2015 Outlook). Meanwhile, AbbVie’s 2015 EPS guidance could prove to be conservative depending on the sales ramp of the recently approved hepatitis C treatment, Viekira Pak (Read more: AbbVie 2015 Earnings Guidance Projects Strong Y/Y Growth).
3. Agenus’ (AGEN) shares shot up 28.7% on an immuno-oncology focused deal with Incyte (INCY). The agreement terms look good and provide Agenus with upfront payments and the opportunity to earn significant milestone payments and royalties. Incyte has immuno-oncology focused agreements with several other companies like Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb as well (Read more: Agenus Soars on Immuno-Oncology Agreement with Incyte).
4. Regeneron (REGN) and partner Sanofi continue to move ahead with their PCSK9 inhibitor. The companies said that Praluent has been accepted for review in the EU. With several companies developing PCSK9 inhibitors, it remains to be seen which company will be the first to gain approval for their product in this lucrative blockbuster market. Amgen’s (AMGN) PCSK9 inhibitor, evolocumab, is currently under FDA review for dyslipidemia with a response expected by Aug 27 (Read more: Regeneron/Sanofi Seek PCSK9 Drug Praluent Approval in EU).
5. Biogen, which has a strong presence in the multiple sclerosis market, is looking to expand and diversify its pipeline. The company has signed a deal to acquire Convergence Pharmaceuticals. The deal will allow Biogen to expand its neuropathic pain portfolio (Read more: Biogen to Acquire Convergence, Expand Pain Pipeline).
Performance
Over the last five trading days, Gilead’s shares declined slightly (0.45%) among major biotechs. Celgene was the highest gainer (8.57%) during this period thanks to its strong growth outlook.
Celgene recorded the highest gain (34.52%) among major biotechs over the last six months as well.
Overall, the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index was up (4.77%) over the last five trading days (See the last biotech stock roundup here: Kite Flies High on Amgen Deal, Isis Soars on J&J Collaboration).
| Company | Last Week | Last 6 Months |
| AMGN | 1.47% | 30.66% |
| BIIB | 5.41% | 9.47% |
| GILD | -0.45% | 9.56% |
| CELG | 8.57% | 34.52% |
| REGN | 2.42% | 28.59% |
| ALXN | 0.71% | 9.80% |
| VRTX | 2.76% | 21.73% |
What's Next in the Biotech World?
With biotech companies yet to start reporting fourth quarter results, watch out for preliminary results and pipeline updates.
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