Bristol-Myers Squibb Company BMY announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of Padlock Therapeutics, Inc. – a privately held MA-based biotech company focused on the development of treatments targeting destructive autoimmune diseases.
Bristol-Myers has agreed to make upfront and near-term milestone payments of up to $225 million and an additional consideration of up to $375 million depending on the achievement of certain development and regulatory events.
With this acquisition, Bristol-Myers will gain full rights to Padlock’s protein/peptidyl arginine deiminase (PAD) inhibitor discovery program. The PAD discovery program which is focused on the development of treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis may also be utilized in developing treatments for systemic lupus erythematosus and other autoimmune diseases.
The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2016. We believe the acquisition is in line with Bristol-Myers’ strategy of strengthening and accelerating the development of its immunoscience pipeline.
But it’s not just immunoscience in focus at Bristol-Myers. The company acquired privately held biotech companies Flexus Biosciences and Cardioxyl to bolster its immuno-oncology and cardiovascular focused pipelines, respectively, while it is actively striking deals in other therapeutic areas including oncology, fibrosis and genetically defined diseases.
We expect to see the company continuing to pursue acquisitions/deals over the coming quarters.
Bristol-Myers is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector include Actelion Ltd. ALIOF, Anika Therapeutics Inc. ANIK and AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. AMAG. All three stocks carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Be the first to comment