Leading biopharmaceutical firm Celgene Corp. Tuesday announced plans to acquire fellow drug maker Receptos in a deal valued at $7.32 billion.
Under the terms of the agreement, Celgene will pay $232 per share in cash for the San Diego-based firm. Shares of Receptos rose by more than $21 during after hours trading on Tuesday to $228.35, representing a 16% jump from Monday's closing price of $197.11, and a more than 500% increase from its 52-week low of $33.52.
According to the company, the deal will help broaden Celgene's footstep in inflammation and immunology therapies development, which will include Receptos' leading drug Ozanimod, a potential once-daily treatment for ulcerative colitis and relapsing multiple sclerosis currently undergoing Stage 3 clinical trials.
“The Receptos acquisition provides a transformational opportunity for Celgene to impact multiple therapeutic areas,” Bob Hugin, Chairman and CEO of Celgene said in a statement. “This acquisition enhances our Inflammation and Immunoglogy portfolio and allows us to leverage the investments made in our global organization to accelerate our growth in the medium and long-term.”
The deal is the latest move on the part of New Jersey-based Celgene to add to its drug pipeline. Last month, the company announced it had entered a 10-year collaborative agreement with Juno Therapeutics for $1 billion in an effort to broaden its portfolio in the promising oncology immunotherapies market.
