Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) said on Monday it would buy MyoKardia (NASDAQ:MYOK) for about $13 billion to bolster its portfolio of heart disease treatments, as it seeks to reduce some of its dependence on cancer drugs.
The deal follows Bristol-Myers’ $74-billion acquisition of Celgene last year that combined two of the world’s largest cancer drug businesses in the biggest pharmaceutical deal ever.
Shares of MyoKardia, which have nearly doubled in value this year, surged another 58.5% to $221.25 before the opening bell, just shy of Bristol Myers’ offer price of $225 per share.
MyoKardia is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing targeted therapies for the treatment of serious cardiovascular diseases.
Through the transaction, Bristol Myers Squibb gains mavacamten, a potential first-in-class cardiovascular medicine for the treatment of obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a chronic heart disease with high morbidity and patient impact. A New Drug Application for mavacamten for the treatment of symptomatic obstructive HCM – based on data from the EXPLORER-HCM study – is expected to be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) in the first quarter of 2021
Bristol Myers CEO Giovanni Carforio remarked. "We are further strengthening our outstanding cardiovascular franchise through the addition of mavacamten, a promising medicine with the potential to address a significant unmet medical need in patients with cardiovascular disease."
Shares in BMY faltered 14 cents to $58.58, while those for MYOK popped $81.17, or 58.1%, to $220.77
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