JNJ - This Small-Cap Biotech Gained as Much as 106.4% Today
Shares of XBiotech (NASDAQ: XBIT) more than doubled today after the tiny company agreed to sell its lead drug candidate, bermekimab, to Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) subsidiary Janssen for $750 million up front and up to $600 million in potential milestone payments. XBiotech will also generate revenue by manufacturing the asset for Janssen for the next two years.
The unusual deal means XBiotech will need to get to work to reinvent itself, especially considering the offloaded asset is involved in 14 clinical programs that comprised nearly the entirety of the company's pipeline.
As of 3:21 p.m. EST, the pharma stock had settled to a 72.6% gain.