The Zhitong Finance App learned that on Monday, the stock price of German biotech company Morphosys (MOR.US) fell due to a news report about its drugs or safety risks, but Morphosys said that Novartis Pharmaceuticals (NVS.US) is still expected to complete its acquisition in the first half of this year.
Prior to Morphosys' statement, the professional website StatNews quoted two people familiar with the matter as reporting that pelabresib, an experimental drug being developed by the company to treat myelofibrosis (a rare type of blood cancer affecting bone marrow), had safety issues. Pelabresib is seen as one of Morphosys' most promising drugs and one reason Novartis is interested in the company.
“We generally don't discuss our interactions with regulators publicly. We remain confident in the benefits and risk profile of the pelabresib and ruxolitinib combination therapy.” A Morphosys spokesperson said in an email response to Reuters.
A Morphosys spokesperson added: “Novartis's acquisition plan is progressing steadily.” Novartis Pharmaceuticals reached an agreement in February this year to acquire Morphosys for 2.7 billion euros (2.89 billion US dollars).
Novartis declined to comment on the StatNews report. As of press release, Morphosys US stocks fell 2.38% before the market, and Novartis US stocks rose 0.63% before the market.