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Cytokinetics (CYTK) Rises on Reports of Buyout by Novartis
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Shares of Cytokinetics, Incorporated (CYTK - Free Report) increased 15.29% after reports of a plausible acquisition by Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NVS - Free Report) came out.
Per a report by the Wall Street Journal, Novartis is closing in on buying Cytokinetics, which has a promising late-stage cardiovascular drug in its pipeline.
Last month, shares of Cytokinetics skyrocketed after the company announced that the late-stage study on aficamten showed a statistically significant and clinically meaningful increase in the primary efficacy endpoint in patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (“HCM”).
Aficamten was evaluated in SEQUOIA-HCM (Safety, Efficacy and Quantitative Understanding of Obstruction Impact of Aficamten in HCM), a phase III clinical trial in patients with symptomatic obstructive HCM.
Results showed treatment with aficamten significantly improved exercise capacity compared with placebo, increasing peak oxygen uptake measured by cardiopulmonary exercise testing by a least square mean difference of 1.74 mL/kg/min. Statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements were also observed in all 10 prespecified secondary endpoints. Aficamten was well-tolerated in SEQUOIA-HCM with an adverse event profile comparable to placebo.
Shares of the company have rallied 194% in the past six months compared with the industry’s 2.4% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Cytokinetics plans to submit regulatory applications for aficamten in the second half of 2024.
The candidate is also being evaluated in two ongoing phase III studies: MAPLE-HCM (Metoprolol versus Aficamten in Patients with LVOT Obstruction on Exercise Capacity in HCM), evaluating aficamten as monotherapy compared with metoprolol in patients with obstructive HCM and ACACIA-HCM (Assessment Comparing Aficamten to Placebo on Cardiac Endpoints in Adults with Non-Obstructive HCM), evaluating aficamten in patients with symptomatic non-obstructive HCM.
The candidate was granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the treatment of symptomatic obstructive HCM from the FDA as well as the National Medical Products Administration in China.
Hence, a potential acquisition will expand NVS’ cardiovascular portfolio, which comprises the blockbuster drug Entresto.
Merger and acquisition activity has picked up in the pharma and biotech space after a lull of two years. Pharma and biotech bigwigs are constantly looking to bolster product portfolios and pipelines through collaborations and buyouts amid generic competition for key drugs.
Novartis is now a pure-play pharmaceutical company following the spin-off of its generic division, Sandoz. It is looking to solidify its portfolio through strategic acquisitions and deals.
Earlier in 2023, Novartis acquired Chinook Therapeutics for $3.5 billion to strengthen its renal pipeline. The acquisition added two late-stage candidates, atrasentan and zigakibart, for the treatment of IgA nephropathy to NVS’ pipeline.
Bristol Myers (BMY - Free Report) recently announced two back-to-back acquisitions, Karuna Therapeutics, Inc. and RayzeBio, as the company looks to expand and strengthen its portfolio in light of generic competition for its two most significant drugs.
In October 2023, Bristol Myers announced the acquisition of the oncology-focused company Mirati Therapeutics for a total equity value of $5.8 billion. In addition to cash, each Mirati stockholder would also receive one non-tradeable contingent value right for each share held.
Another pharma giant, AbbVie (ABBV - Free Report) , announced two back-to-back acquisitions, Cerevel Therapeutics for $8.7 billion and ImmunoGen for $10.1 billion. ImmunoGen’s buyout will add flagship cancer therapy Elahere, a first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate approved for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, to ABBV’s portfolio.
Image: Bigstock
Cytokinetics (CYTK) Rises on Reports of Buyout by Novartis
Shares of Cytokinetics, Incorporated (CYTK - Free Report) increased 15.29% after reports of a plausible acquisition by Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NVS - Free Report) came out.
Per a report by the Wall Street Journal, Novartis is closing in on buying Cytokinetics, which has a promising late-stage cardiovascular drug in its pipeline.
Last month, shares of Cytokinetics skyrocketed after the company announced that the late-stage study on aficamten showed a statistically significant and clinically meaningful increase in the primary efficacy endpoint in patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (“HCM”).
Aficamten was evaluated in SEQUOIA-HCM (Safety, Efficacy and Quantitative Understanding of Obstruction Impact of Aficamten in HCM), a phase III clinical trial in patients with symptomatic obstructive HCM.
Results showed treatment with aficamten significantly improved exercise capacity compared with placebo, increasing peak oxygen uptake measured by cardiopulmonary exercise testing by a least square mean difference of 1.74 mL/kg/min. Statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements were also observed in all 10 prespecified secondary endpoints. Aficamten was well-tolerated in SEQUOIA-HCM with an adverse event profile comparable to placebo.
Shares of the company have rallied 194% in the past six months compared with the industry’s 2.4% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Cytokinetics plans to submit regulatory applications for aficamten in the second half of 2024.
The candidate is also being evaluated in two ongoing phase III studies: MAPLE-HCM (Metoprolol versus Aficamten in Patients with LVOT Obstruction on Exercise Capacity in HCM), evaluating aficamten as monotherapy compared with metoprolol in patients with obstructive HCM and ACACIA-HCM (Assessment Comparing Aficamten to Placebo on Cardiac Endpoints in Adults with Non-Obstructive HCM), evaluating aficamten in patients with symptomatic non-obstructive HCM.
The candidate was granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the treatment of symptomatic obstructive HCM from the FDA as well as the National Medical Products Administration in China.
Hence, a potential acquisition will expand NVS’ cardiovascular portfolio, which comprises the blockbuster drug Entresto.
Merger and acquisition activity has picked up in the pharma and biotech space after a lull of two years. Pharma and biotech bigwigs are constantly looking to bolster product portfolios and pipelines through collaborations and buyouts amid generic competition for key drugs.
Novartis is now a pure-play pharmaceutical company following the spin-off of its generic division, Sandoz. It is looking to solidify its portfolio through strategic acquisitions and deals.
Earlier in 2023, Novartis acquired Chinook Therapeutics for $3.5 billion to strengthen its renal pipeline. The acquisition added two late-stage candidates, atrasentan and zigakibart, for the treatment of IgA nephropathy to NVS’ pipeline.
Bristol Myers (BMY - Free Report) recently announced two back-to-back acquisitions, Karuna Therapeutics, Inc. and RayzeBio, as the company looks to expand and strengthen its portfolio in light of generic competition for its two most significant drugs.
In October 2023, Bristol Myers announced the acquisition of the oncology-focused company Mirati Therapeutics for a total equity value of $5.8 billion. In addition to cash, each Mirati stockholder would also receive one non-tradeable contingent value right for each share held.
Another pharma giant, AbbVie (ABBV - Free Report) , announced two back-to-back acquisitions, Cerevel Therapeutics for $8.7 billion and ImmunoGen for $10.1 billion. ImmunoGen’s buyout will add flagship cancer therapy Elahere, a first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate approved for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, to ABBV’s portfolio.
Cytokinetics currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.