Biotech stocks jump on AbbVie deal to buy cancer drugmaker ImmunoGen for $10 billion

Biotech stocks jump on AbbVie deal to buy cancer drugmaker ImmunoGen for  billion


Test tubes are seen in front of a displayed Abbvie logo in this illustration taken, May 21, 2021.

Dado Ruvic | Reuters

Biotech stocks rose Thursday as AbbVie announced plans to buy cancer drug developer ImmunoGen for $10.1 billion. 

Shares of ImmunoGen jumped more than 80% on Thursday, putting it on track for its highest close since November 2000. Meanwhile, AbbVie’s stock rose more than 2%. 

ImmunoGen develops cancer drugs called antibody-drug conjugates, or ADCs, which are designed to directly kill cancer cells and spare healthy ones. Shares of other biotech companies developing ADCs, which are among the hottest areas in the pharmaceutical industry, jumped on the news of the buyout. 

That includes Sutro BioPharma‘s stock, which spiked about 16% on Thursday and shares of Mersana Therapeutics, which rose nearly 17%. Shares of ADC Therapeutics also popped about 15% on Thursday.

The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF, which focuses on small and midsize biotech companies, rose 3% on Thursday. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index advanced more than 1%.

Under the terms of the deal, AbbVie will pay $31.26 a share in cash for ImmunoGen, a roughly 95% premium to Wednesday’s closing price. AbbVie said it expects to complete the acquisition, which aims to strengthen its oncology pipeline, in the middle of 2024.

Guggenheim analyst Michael Schmidt said the price of the deal reflects the “increasing interest we have seen from large biopharma companies wanting to increase their exposure” in ADCs, which he called an “attractive area.”

For example, Pfizer agreed to acquire Seagen, a pioneer in ADCs, for $43 billion earlier this year. Merck and Daiichi Sankyo also recently agreed to jointly develop and commercialize three potential ADCs in a deal worth up to $22 billion.



Source

Trump’s pharmaceutical tariffs could affect some drugmakers more than others
Health

Trump’s pharmaceutical tariffs could affect some drugmakers more than others

Medications are stored on shelves at a pharmacy on May 12, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Eric Thayer | Getty Images President Donald Trump is slated to impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals imported into the U.S. any day now – and the duties may have a bigger impact on some drugmakers than others, according to some […]

Read More
Merck plans  billion cost cuts by end of 2027, narrows full-year outlook
Health

Merck plans $3 billion cost cuts by end of 2027, narrows full-year outlook

Merck & Co. signage on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images Merck on Tuesday said it will slash $3 billion in costs by the end of 2027 to be fully reinvested to support new product launches […]

Read More
UnitedHealth says 2025 earnings will be worse than expected as high medical costs dog insurers
Health

UnitedHealth says 2025 earnings will be worse than expected as high medical costs dog insurers

UnitedHealthcare signage is displayed on an office building in Phoenix, Arizona, on July 19, 2023. Patrick T. Fallon | Afp | Getty Images UnitedHealth Group on Tuesday issued a 2025 outlook that fell short of Wall Street’s expectations, as the company’s insurance unit continues to grapple with higher medical costs. The company anticipates it will […]

Read More