PhillyTablet Inquirer Daily News
Mobile
Home Delivery
philly.com
email
font size
comments
0
options
 
Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Incyte, Teva reach drug development deals

The end of the year always brings a flurry of deal-making, and not just in the store aisles.

After all, Jan. 1 is a new tax year, and companies have all sorts of reasons to want to buy, sell or strike those strategic partnerships beforehand.

Monday brought word of two multi-million-dollar life-sciences transactions involving area companies.

First, Incyte Corp., of Wilmington, licensed compounds to treat anti-inflammatory and autoimmune diseases to Eli Lilly & Co. In return, Incyte gets $90 million upfront and potential performance-based payments of up to an additional $665 million.

Incyte shares rose 24 cents, or 2.8 percent, to close at $8.73. Lilly also finished higher, closing up 52 cents, or 1.5 percent, at $36.24.

In an unrelated deal, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., based in Israel with U.S. headquarters in North Wales, Pa., agreed to license an experimental cancer treatment from OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Bothell, Wash.

Teva paid $50 million upfront, will invest $10 million in OncoGenex shares, and agreed to make other payments of up to $370 million.

Having the world’s biggest generic drugmaker in your corner would seem to be a good thing, but OncoGenex investors bailed on the news. Shares fell 28.7 percent, or $8.52, to close at $21.13.

Teva rose $1.65, or 3.1 percent, to close at $54.56.

No Sale

Some planned deals come undone as the end of the year approaches.

Royal Bancshares of Pennsylvania Inc. on Monday terminated an agreement to sell its Royal Asian Bank unit to an investor group led by Royal Asian CEO Edward Shin for $15.2 million.

The Narberth-based bank holding company said the Korean-American investor group was “unable to raise sufficient capital” to meet the terms of the deal struck in September. The two sides also weren’t sure the amount raised would be enough to gain regulatory approval.

News of the sale’s collapse came after the stock market had closed. Trading in Royal Bancshares had yoyoed during the last two sessions. On Friday, shares had spiked 41.7 percent, or 53 cents, to close at $1.80. Yesterday, shares fell 30 percent, or 54 cents, to close at $1.26.
Posted by Mike Armstrong @ 2:05 AM  Permalink | File Under: Financial Services | | Pharma, Biotech | Post a comment
Comments   


0 comments
About Mike Armstrong
Mike Armstrong, a business editor and writer for nearly two decades, is the Inquirer's business columnist and PhillyInc blog editor. Contact Mike via e-mail or at 215-854-2980
Advertise Here