BioCentury
ARTICLE | Company News

Celltrion jumps on rumors of AstraZeneca bid

August 1, 2013 1:19 AM UTC

Celltrion Inc. (KOSDAQ:068270) jumped W8,500 (15%) to W65,400 on Wednesday after media reports surfaced that AstraZeneca plc (LSE:AZN; NYSE:AZN) was in discussions to acquire the biosimilar company. However, Celltrion said in a statement that "some press articles recently inaccurately reported" that Celltrion Holdings Co. Ltd. -- Celltrion's largest shareholder -- would be selling its Celltrion stake to AstraZeneca. Celltrion said "no definite structure, decision or buyer has been determined" for the stake. The pharma declined to comment.

In May, Celltrion Holdings hired JPMorgan as a financial advisor for the sale of its Celltrion stake. At the time, an official from JPMorgan said the bank planned to start the sale process for Celltrion Holdings' stake once Celltrion received EU approval of its biosimilar of autoimmune drug Remicade infliximab. ...