Bristol-Myers Squibb Acquires Cormorant Pharmaceuticals

On July 5, 2016 Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) announced that it has acquired Cormorant Pharmaceuticals, a private Swedish pharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapies for cancer and rare diseases. The acquisition will give BMS full rights to Cormorant’s HuMax-IL8 antibody program, including the lead candidate HuMax-IL8, a monoclonal antibody targeted against interleukin-8 (IL-8) that represents a potentially complementary immuno-oncology mechanism of action to T-cell directed antibodies and co-stimulatory molecules. Cormorant acquired the rights to HuMax-IL8 from Genmab A/S in 2012 under an exclusive license agreement, BMS said in a press announcement.

The transaction includes an upfront and near term continent milestone payments of up to $95 million and additional continent considerations of up to $425 million upon BMS achieving certain regulatory milestones. The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and by the stockholders of Cormorant.

Source: Bristol-Myers Squibb