Immunogen closed nearly 83% higher on Thursday and AbbVie closed nearly 3% higher. Shares of other biotech companies developing ADC drugs also rose.
The Zhitong Finance App learned that ABBV.US (ABBV.US) announced on Thursday that it will acquire Immunogen (IMGN.US), a developer of a novel anti-cancer therapy antibody-conjugated drug (ADC), for about 10 billion US dollars. Affected by this, Immunogen closed nearly 83% higher on Thursday and AbbVie closed nearly 3% higher. The stock prices of other biotech companies developing ADC drugs also rose: Sutro Biopharma (STRO.US) closed up about 13%, Mersana Therapeutics (MRSN.US) closed up more than 3%, and ADC Therapeutics (ADCT.US) closed up about 8%. Furthermore, the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF, which focuses on small and medium-sized biotech companies, closed up 2%, and the Nasdaq Biotech Index closed up more than 1%.
According to the terms of the deal, AbbVie will acquire ImmunoGen for $31.26 per share in cash, about a 95% premium over the latter's closing price on Wednesday. The acquisition includes Elahere, an ovarian cancer treatment owned by Immunogen. AbbVie said the deal is expected to close in mid-2024. Beginning in early 2027, the acquisition will boost its diluted earnings per share.
AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez said, “The acquisition of ImmunoGen demonstrates our commitment to a long-term growth strategy and enables AbbVie to further diversify its product pipeline in the field of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies.”
Michael Schmidt, an analyst at Guggenheim, said that the price of the deal reflects the growing interest of major pharmaceutical companies in increasing their investment in the ADC sector. He said ADC pharmaceuticals are an “attractive field.”
Earlier this year, Pfizer (PFE.US) announced a $43 billion acquisition of ADC developer Seagen (SGEN.US). In October, MSD (MRK.US) agreed to pay up to $22 billion to Japanese pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo (DSYF.US) to jointly develop and commercialize three ADCs for solid tumors.