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Gilead Sciences, Inc.
and YM BioSciences Inc. (NYSE: YMI,
TSX: YM) announced today that the companies have signed a definitive agreement
under which Gilead will acquire YM for U.S.$2.95 per share in cash. The
transaction has received the unanimous approval of YM's Board of Directors,
and values YM at approximately U.S.$510 million, with YM reporting C$125.5
million in cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2012. Gilead plans to
fund the acquisition with cash on hand. The transaction is expected to close
in the first quarter of 2013.
YM's lead drug candidate, CYT387, is an orally-administered, once-daily,
selective inhibitor of the Janus kinase (JAK) family, specifically JAK1 and
JAK2. The JAK enzymes have been implicated in a number of disorders including
myeloproliferative diseases, inflammatory disorders and certain cancers. YM
has reported positive results from a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of CYT387 in 166
patients with myelofibrosis, a life-threatening myeloproliferative disease.
Pending completion of the acquisition, Gilead intends to initiate a pivotal
Phase 3 clinical trial of CYT387 in myelofibrosis in the second half of 2013.
Myelofibrosis is a progressive, chronic bone marrow disorder in which the
marrow is replaced by fibrous scar tissue, making it difficult for the bone
marrow to sufficiently produce blood cells, leading to anemia (low red blood
cell count) and thrombocytopenia (low blood platelet count), severe
constitutional symptoms and spleen enlargement. JAK inhibitors modulate
cytokine-stimulated intracellular signalling and decrease the circulating
levels of proinflammatory cytokines associated with the pathogenesis of
myelofibrosis.
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