Dive Brief:
- Celgene has agreed to purchase Receptos for $7.2 billion. The deal brings ozanimod -- a promising late-stage candidate with multiple potential applications -- into Celegene's portfolio.
- Based on clinical data and research, ozanimod has potential therapeutic application for ulcerative colitis (UC), Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.
- Based on the acquisition of Recpetos, Celgene has raised its earnings forecasts several years outward, and is now targeting gross revenues of $21 billion for 2020.
Dive Insight:
Biopharma Dive has written extensively about Celgene's prowess as a "partnering king." Recently this large biotech invested $1 billion in Juno Therapeutics to gain access to its cancer immunotherapy portfolio. In addition, Celgene has ongoing collaborations with Agios for a leukemia drug in development, as well as with AstraZeneca for immuno-oncology R&D.
However, there seems to be more excitement about the Receptos deal than the other deals at the moment. One reason is that the mid-development data for ozanimod for UC was positive, and based on current phase III trial schedules, an approval for relapsing MS could come as early as 2018. In fact, Celgene has already forecasted potential peak sales for ozanimod of $4 billion to $6 billion for UC and MS.
While there are certainly growing concerns about a "biotech bubble," this deal felt right to investors based on the market's respnse. Yesterday, Celgene's shares were up 6%, trading as high as $130.15, while shares of Receptos went from $207.18 at the close to $228.14 in after-hours trading. As for 2015 revenues for Celgene, the forecast is stable at $9 billion to $9.5 billion, but the company has raised its anticipated adjusted earnings from a range $4.60 to $4.75 per share to a range of of $4.75 to $4.85 per share.