Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) said on Wednesday it would buy Momenta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MNTA) for about $6.5 billion in cash to bolster its portfolio of treatments for autoimmune diseases.
Momenta shares were up $21.34, or 69.3%, at $52.15 just after the bell, just shy of the offer price of $52.20.
The deal gives Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen unit access to Momenta’s experimental therapy, nipocalimab, being tested for myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in muscles.
"Nipocalimab gives Janssen the opportunity to reach significantly more patients by pursuing indications across many autoimmune diseases," Johnson & Johnson said in a statement.
The drug is being developed to treat diseases where the body’s own antibodies attack or damage proteins and cells.
J&J reiterated its 2020 adjusted earnings per share forecast and said it expected the deal to close in the second half of 2020.
Autoimmune diseases driven partially or completely by autoantibodies represent a novel area where Janssen can significantly improve health outcomes for patients. In autoantibody-driven diseases, the body's antibodies attack or damage its own proteins, cells and tissues, often with devastating consequences.
Autoantibody-driven diseases include Myasthenia Gravis, Hemolytic Diseases of the Fetus and Newborn, warm Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia, and other serious dermatologic, rheumatic, neurologic, hematologic and renal diseases.
An estimated 2.5% of the population, or approximately 195 million people worldwide, suffer from some form of autoantibody-driven disease, many of which are orphan and rare diseases.
JNJ shares, for their part, gained $1.17 to $151.26.
