Shares of Athenex, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATNX) is soaring 28.09% at the time of writing on Wednesday. The strong performance of the firm came after it has disclosed the acquisition of Kuur Therapeutics Inc. for a $70 million upfront payment. Kuur has gained recognition as the clinical-stage biotech firm fixated on evolving off-the-shelf CAR-NKT cell immunotherapies for the cure of solid and hematological malignancies.
As per the deal, Athenex will offer $70 million upfront to Kuur shareholders and certain of its ex-workers and directors, included chiefly of equity in Athenex common stock. Furthermore, they are entitled to get more than $115 million of milestone payments, which may be remunerated, at Athenex’s sole will, in either cash or extra Athenex common stock or a combination of both.
Athenex, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATNX) shares were skyrocketed 28.09% at +0.96 at the time of writing on Wednesday. Athenex, Inc's share price went from a low point around $3.66 to briefly over $15.24 in the past 52 weeks, though shares have since pulled back to $4.67. ANTX's market cap has remained high, reaching $351.00 million at the time of writing.
CEO of Kuur stated that CAR-NKT cells provide various advantages over other immune effector cells frequently used for cell therapy. We are excited that the management at Athenex identifies the substantial potential of this methodology to offer effective cure options for sufferers with both solid and hematological tumors.