Latest news with #Acelyrin
Business Insider
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Alumis resumed with an Overweight at Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley resumed coverage of Alumis (ALMS) with an Overweight rating and $23 price target The firm updated its model for the Acelyrin merger and Q1 earnings. The Phase 3 data from Alumis' lead pipeline program ESK-001 in psoriasis in Q1 of 2026 represents the next key catalyst for the shares, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Morgan believes the company's pipeline is on track. Confident Investing Starts Here:
Business Mayor
15-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Oil prices fall as Trump says US is 'getting close' to Iran nuclear deal
Updated: 19:06 BST, 15 May 2025 Oil prices fell as much as 3 per cent by Thursday afternoon after President Donald Trump said the US was close to reaching a nuclear accord with Iran. The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark, was trading at $64.6 per barrel by mid-afternoon, while West Texas Intermediate Crude stood at $61.7 per barrel. Trump told reporters in Doha, Qatar, which forms part of a three-day Middle East tour, that the US was 'getting close to having a deal' that would avoid a 'violent step'. During his first term in office, Trump withdrew the US from an agreement severely limiting Iran's ability to enrich uranium and slashing its nuclear fuel stockpiles. The US instead imposed major sanctions as part of a 'maximum pressure' campaign aimed at restricting Iran's support for armed groups in the Middle East and curtailing its ballistic missile programme. A new deal could see significant sanctions lifted on Iranian energy exports, flooding the international oil market with even greater supply. OPEC+ member countries announced plans earlier this month to boost oil production in June by 411,000 barrels per day, taking the combined increases for April, May and June to 960,000 bpd. And just yesterday, the US Energy Administration revealed that US crude inventories surprisingly increased by 3.5 million barrels last week. This sparked a drop in oil prices, which had surged early this week after the US and China revealed they would cut their reciprocal tariffs on each other for 90 days. Trump's remarks badly hit shares in oil supermajors, with BP and Shell falling 3.9 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively, while mid-cap firm Harbour Energy had a 1.8 per cent decline. The overall UK markets have performed comparatively better today than the oil giants, although the FTSE 100 was just 0.2 per cent up at 8,595.8 points by 3pm and the FTSE 250 was flat at 20,816.1 points. However, Asian markets suffered from much weaker sentiment, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closing 0.8 per cent lower at 23,453.2, Seoul's KOSPI 0.7 per cent down at 23,453 and Japan's Nikkei 225 index dropping 1 per cent to 37,775.51. And in Europe, France's CAC 40 was down 0.2 per cent, or 17.5 points, at 7,819.3, while Germany's DAX had flatlined at 23,553. Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: 'The euphoria from Monday's US-China truce has faded, and now markets are waiting to see if further deals materialise from here.' Having already struck a trade deal with the UK, Trump has now claimed India offered to remove all tariffs on imported US goods. Read More Acelyrin falls as Acelyrin reaffirms deal commitment He made the comments in Qatar whilst referencing Apple's intentions to manufacture the majority of iPhones in India instead of China. Many large companies have been scaling back their forecasts in response to the unpredictability resulting from Trump's tariff policies. Easy investing and ready-made portfolios Free fund dealing and investment ideas Flat-fee investing from £4.99 per month Account and trading fee-free ETF investing Free share dealing and no account fee Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence. Compare the best investing account for you
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Acelyrin should liquidate instead of merging with Alumis, investor says
This story was originally published on BioPharma Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily BioPharma Dive newsletter. A shareholder of immune drug developer Acelyin believes the company is better off shutting down and returning cash to shareholders rather than pursuing a merger with fellow biotech Alumis. Trium Capital, an England-based investment fund and Acelyrin stockholder, revealed in a regulatory filing Tuesday that it intends to vote against the planned merger after concluding it's not in the best interest of shareholders. In a letter to Acelyrin's board dated April 28, the firm instead argued that Alumis' offer, as well as others Acelyrin has considered, are inferior to what equity holders would receive if Acelyrin were to liquidate its assets. 'We believe there is substantial upside to winding up the company as compared to the proposed merger,' Trium portfolio manager Felix Lo wrote in the letter. Trium's filing comes amid heightened investor scrutiny of companies that, like Acelyrin, have suffered a setback and are worth less than their cash holdings. These biotech 'zombies' typically pivot to a different strategy or merge with another drugmaker. Increasingly, investors have argued their cash should be put to better use. Multiple activist firms have pressured company boards in recent months and one biotech, Third Harmonic Bio, approved a liquidation plan two weeks ago. Acelyrin debuted on Wall Street in 2023 after raising $540 million in one of biotech's largest initial public offerings. But disappointing study results led the company to abandon development of the drug at the heart of that offering the following year. A second therapy that became its focus also hasn't entirely impressed, leaving the company with a depressed stock price. Acelyrin has pursued other strategic options. Trium noted how the company formed a special transaction committee and began evaluating offers, contacting over 25 parties and considering a variety of different deals. That process culminated with an announcement in February that the company planned to merge with Alumis. The planned deal is an all-stock transaction that would leave Acelyrin shareholders with about 48% of the combined company, giving them a stake in a company with a bigger cash balance and three drugs in clinical testing. The companies already amended deal terms to give Acelyrin shareholders more equity, with board chair Bruce Cozadd noting in a statement last week that he changes reflected discussions with shareholders. Acelyrin was also pursued by Tang Capital Partners, which has acquired some struggling companies and bought up shares in others in bids to liquidate them. But Acelyrin rebuffed Tang's efforts, adopted a 'poison pill' to protect itself and threw support behind the Alumis deal instead. In its letter, Trium argued Tang's bid, as well as a wind down of the company, would both be better outcomes for shareholders than an Alumis deal that values Acelyrin at less than its cash holdings and carries more risk. The firm also contended Acelyrin failed to discuss such a scenario until early 2025 and, even then, didn't seriously consider it. 'A liquidation of the company provides certainty of value well above the value from any of the offers received thus far and will allow shareholders to re-invest the proceeds as they see fit,' Lo wrote. 'We believe there is no reason for shareholders to accept any transaction that provides upfront value less than value that can be expected in a liquidation.' Acelyrin shares trade at about $2.50 apiece. Its net cash reserves of $448 million as of the fourth quarter of 2024 were worth $4.45 a share, Lo noted. Concentra Biosciences, an entity controlled by Tang, had bid $3 per share in cash as well as the right to 80% of the proceeds if Concentra were to license or sell the company's programs. Recommended Reading An investment fund sets out to free biotech's 'trapped capital' Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Third Harmonic outlines plans for dissolution
This story was originally published on BioPharma Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily BioPharma Dive newsletter. Third Harmonic Bio plans to wind down operations and sell its assets, including its lead drug candidate, in a liquidation plan the company announced Monday. If approved by stockholders at an annual meeting in early June, the immune drug developer will dissolve in the third quarter of 2025. 'Our management team and board of directors together have completed an efficient review of our strategic alternatives for maximizing the value of our assets and have determined that returning cash to shareholders and selling our assets, including THB335, is the best path forward,' Natalie Holles, Third Harmonic's CEO, said in a statement. Founded by Atlas Venture in 2019, Third Harmonic initially set out with plans to make an oral mast cell inhibitor for chronic inducible urticaria. The company raised $185 million in a 2022 initial public offering, but its share price nosedived just months after the IPO when it halted its clinical study on account of liver toxicities observed in trial participants. In February, Third Harmonic publicized its plans to weigh strategic alternatives as it reported Phase 1 results for THB335 in healthy volunteers. It laid off half its staff and stopped all R&D work outside of THB335, which is being evaluated in a different form of chronic hives. The company still intends to complete the work necessary to prepare THB335 for advancement into Phase 2 testing, so as to maximize the value the program might obtain in a sale. Third Harmonic had $285 million in cash and cash equivalents as of Dec. 31. It expects to distribute between $246.6 million and $255.4 million to shareholders later this year if its dissolution plan is approved. The biotech is one of several drug companies that have flopped after pricing high-profile IPOs based on the promise and success of their lead programs. Acelyrin, Cargo Therapeutics, and BioAge Labs all had dramatic decreases in their stock prices after either stopping lead studies due to adverse side effects, or reporting disappointing data. Historically, companies have often tried to press on by pivoting their research or seeking a reverse merger. Now, however, investors and analysts are scrutinizing these 'zombies' more closely and arguing that the cash they have accrued could be better deployed elsewhere. 'Now that these candidates have failed, investors have for the most part walked away, leaving companies to trade at a fraction of their cash,' wrote Cantor Fitzgerald research analyst Eric Schmidt in a February client note that referenced Acelyrin, Cargo and BioAge. 'Cash that was raised through an efficient capital process to fund specific projects (although in retrospect for programs that were flawed) is now being allocated by a few insiders and spent on programs that investors are not willing to support,' Schmidt wrote. Instead, Schmidt suggested, companies should weigh alternatives so every dollar invested is put to the best use. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ozempic, Wegovy shortage resolved; Pfizer CEO is PhRMA's new chair
This story was originally published on BioPharma Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily BioPharma Dive newsletter. Today, a brief rundown of news involving Novo Nordisk, Acelyrin and Intra-Cellular Therapies, as well as updates from Gilead Sciences and PhRMA that you might have missed. The Food and Drug Administration has declared a two-and-a-half year shortage of Novo Nordisk's metabolic drugs Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for obesity to be 'resolved,' as of Friday. The decision follows the FDA's declaration of an end to shortages for Eli Lilly's competing drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound. The two companies have struggled with capacity as demand for the drugs has soared, particularly in obesity. To ensure supplies of compounded alternatives of the Novo drugs aren't disrupted, the FDA said it won't enforce any bans on those products until April 22 if manufactured at a state-licensed pharmacy or May 22 if they're made at a federally authorized outsourcing facility. Shares in Hims & Hers Health, which has marketed compounded versions of the drugs, fell by more than 20% in Friday morning trading. — Jonathan Gardner Concentra Biosciences, an entity controlled by investment firm Tang Capital Partners, has made an unsolicited bid for Acelyrin weeks after the company agreed to merge with fellow immune drug developer Alumis. Through the offer announced Thursday, Concentra intends to acquire Acelyrin for $3 per share in cash as well as the right to 80% of the proceeds if Concentra licenses or sells the company's programs. Acelyrin stockholders would get about 45% of Alumis' shares — which currently trade around $5 apiece — in the planned merger. Acelyrin said its board will act in 'the best interests of all stockholders' and it will make a further announcement 'in due course.' If approved by shareholders, its merger with Alumis would close in the second quarter. — Ben Fidler Intra-Cellular Therapies, maker of the mind-stabilizing medicine Caplyta, reported on Friday that net sales of the product totaled almost $681 million last year. That sum is up 47% compared to 2023. Caplyta is already approved in the U.S. as a treatment for schizophrenia and bipolar depression, and could be cleared in major depression before too long. Sensing the drug's blockbuster potential, Johnson & Johnson recently agreed to acquire Intra-Cellular for nearly $15 billion. The deal is expected to close later this year. — Jacob Bell European regulators have granted conditional authorization to Gilead Sciences' seladelpar in primary biliary cholangitis, a rare autoimmune condition of the liver. The European Commission's decision follows by six months the Food and Drug Administration's decision to grant accelerated authorization to the drug, which Gilead sells as Livdelzi in the U.S. Testing showed seladelpar reduced levels of a liver enzyme that is elevated in PBC patients. To gain full approval, Gilead is working on a confirmatory trial designed to show seladelpar can reduce PBC-related complications in people with the condition and compensated cirrhosis. The company gained the drug in its $4.3 billion acquisition of . — Jonathan Gardner Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has assumed the role of chair of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America's board. Bourla, who has been Pfizer's CEO since 2019, said he wants drugmakers' biggest lobbying group to work with policymakers to 'address the burden of chronic disease and other devastating conditions, improve patients' lives, and ensure lifechanging medicines are available and affordable for people who need them.' Bourla will take PhRMA's reins from Gilead Sciences CEO Daniel O'Day. Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson was elected as PhRMA's chair-elect and Merck & Co.'s CEO Robert Davis will serve as treasurer.— Jonathan Gardner Incyte and Genesis Therapeutics are teaming up on an AI collaboration the companies said will help them find new small molecule drug candidates more quickly. Announced Thursday, the deal hands Genesis $30 million upfront with the potential for $295 million more upon hitting certain milestones. If successful, Incyte retains the rights to develop and commercialize any drugs that emerge from the partnership. Neither company said which disease area would be pursued first. — Gwendolyn Wu Sign in to access your portfolio
