Opexa soars on Merck MS option

Shares of Opexa Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:OPXA) jumped $1.94 (160%) to $3.15 on Tuesday after the biotech granted the Merck Serono division of Merck KGaA (Xetra:MRK) an exclusive option to license worldwide rights to develop and commercialize Opexa's Tcelna imilecleucel-T for multiple sclerosis (MS). Opexa, which ended Tuesday with a market cap of $19.6 million, will receive $5 million up front for the option, which is exercisable after the completion of an ongoing Phase IIb trial of Tcelna for secondary progressive MS. The product previously failed a Phase II trial in relapsing-remitting MS, but Opexa restarted development for secondary progressive MS last year (see BioCentury, Oct. 8, 2012). ...