Biotech Stock Roundup: Actelion Soars On Acquisition Talks, Another Clinical Hold For Juno
Zacks Investment Research | Nov 30, 2016 07:13AM ET
Switzerland-based Actelion (OTC:ALIOF) confirmed that it is in preliminary talks with Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), which is looking to acquire the company that is focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of drugs for diseases with significant unmet medical needs. Meanwhile, Juno (NASDAQ:JUNO) was hit by yet another clinical hold on its phase II ROCKET study.
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Actelion Shoots Up on Acquisition Talks: Actelion’s shares soared 34.9% ever since rumors surfaced about the company being in acquisition talks with Johnson & Johnson. While both companies confirmed that they are in discussions, a deal is yet to be announced. According to sources, J&J has hiked its offer though Actelion is reportedly not interested in a complete takeover. Actelion has often been considered an attractive takeover target mainly due to its rare disease portfolio. In addition to holding a strong position in the pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) market, Actelion’s portfolio also has treatments approved in certain countries for specialist diseases like type I Gaucher disease, Niemann-Pick type C disease, digital ulcers in patients suffering from systemic sclerosis, and mycosis fungoides type cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. We note that Actelion has consistently outperformed the Zacks categorized Medical-Biomedical/Genetics industry year-to-date (YTD) with the company gaining 50.7% while the Zacks categorized Medical-Biomedical/Genetics industry declined 23.5%.
Juno Hit by Another Clinical Hold: Juno’s phase II ROCKET study on JCAR015 has been placed on clinical hold after two patients suffered severe cerebral edema and died eventually. This is the second time this year that the ROCKET study, in adult patients with relapsed or refractory B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, has been placed on clinical hold. Earlier in July, the FDA had placed the pivotal study on hold after two patients died following the recent addition of fludarabine to the pre-conditioning regimen. The hold was subsequently lifted with the study continuing under a revised protocol.
With the latest clinical hold, some of the options for Juno include continuing the study with a modified protocol, starting a new study or terminating the JCAR015 program. The company’s decision regarding the path forward will take into account feedback from the FDA, the data safety monitoring board as well as the treating physicians in the study. Juno will provide an update once the analysis is completed. Not surprisingly, Juno’s shares were down on the latest clinical hold (Read more: the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here .
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Acorda Stops Ampyra PSWD Development, CRL for Spectrum's Qapzola ).
What's Next in the Biotech World?
Watch out for the usual pipeline and regulatory updates from biotech companies. Several companies will be present at the upcoming meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) with data on approved drugs as well as pipeline candidates.
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