Why Is Ulcerative Colitis-Focused Landos Biopharma Stock Trading Higher On Monday?

Monday, AbbVie Inc ABBV agreed to acquire Landos Biopharma Inc LABP for $20.42 per share, or approximately $137.5 million in the aggregate, plus one contingent value right per share with a value of up to $11.14 per share, or approximately an additional $75 million.

The proposed transaction is expected to close in the second calendar quarter of 2024.

Landos’ lead investigational asset is NX-13, a first-in-class, oral NLRX1 agonist (a member of the NOD-like receptor family) with a bimodal mechanism of action (MOA), anti-inflammatory, and facilitates epithelial repair.

“With this acquisition, we aim to advance the clinical development of NX-13, a differentiated, first-in-class, oral asset with the potential to make a difference in the lives of people living with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease,” said Roopal Thakkar, senior vice president, chief medical officer, global therapeutics, AbbVie.

NLRX1 regulates immuno-metabolism and inflammation, and its activation impacts multiple mechanisms of inflammatory bowel disease pathogenesis. 

The randomized controlled Phase 2 NEXUS clinical trial evaluating NX-13 in ulcerative colitis is currently enrolling patients in the United States and Europe.

Also on Friday, the FDA granted full approval for Elahere (mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx) for the treatment of folate receptor alpha (FRα)-positive, platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal adult cancer patients treated with up to three prior therapies. 

Elahere was first granted FDA accelerated approval in November 2022, and the conversion to full approval is based on data from the confirmatory Phase 3 MIRASOL trial. 

AbbVie added Elahere via the acquisition of ImmunoGen for approximately $10.1 billion. 

In December, AbbVie agreed to acquire Cerevel Therapeutics Holdings Inc CERE for a total equity value of approximately $8.7 billion, or $45 per share in cash, expanding its foothold in neuroscience.

Price Action: LABP shares are up 174.6% at $21.54 on the last check Monday.

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