Novartis is said to be deep in negotiations with MorphoSys about a potential sale, taking the lead over rival Incyte to buy the cancer drug developer, Reuters reported citing two people familiar with the matter. News of the potential buyout sent MorphoSys shares climbing up over 40% on Monday.
MorphoSys, which has a market value of €1.6 billion ($1.7 billion), develops drugs against haematologic malignancies, including certain types of lymphomas. A takeout by Novartis would be in line with CEO Vas Narasimhan's plan to keep acquisition targets by the Swiss drugmaker to $5 billion or less.
Despite the miss, MorphoSys said it was still planning to apply for US and EU approval of the drug this year based on the "totality of data." For more, see KOL Views Q&A: Leading expert sees role for MorphoSys' pelabresib in dynamic myelofibrosis arena.
Earlier last year, MorphoSys also announced that in a bid to cut costs, it would shut down some of its early-stage programmes and let go of about 17% of its workforce. The company currently employs almost 550 people in its US and German offices, according to its website.