Celator Pharm (NASDAQ:CPXX)
Celator Pharmaceuticals News & Technicals
On Tuesday morning before the market opened, Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ:JAZZ) announced that they will buy Celator Pharmaceuticals for roughly $1.5 billion or $30.25 per share after shares closed on Friday at $17.53, a 73% jump in value. This should add excellent growth value to JAZZ’s bottom-line as VYXEOS, an Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) treatment, will be added to their portfolio which is anticipated to have the regulatory submission by end of third quarter 2016. Before this buyout news, CPXX had an average price target of $21.20.
Looking at the chart you will see that shares have been on the move since gapping up back in March and have trended higher into this news. Shares are looking to gap up above the $30 mark and will probably stick around these prices as buyouts have a defined price in place but if anything happens to the deal we could see a lot of price movement. Shares are well above their 200-day moving average currently sitting at $4.94 and their 50-day moving average at $13.98. The stock has made most of the move in the premarket so don’t expect much after the bell rings.
CEO Comments
“Celator Pharmaceuticals is a strong strategic fit with Jazz Pharmaceuticals. VYXEOS will further diversify our product portfolio and is complementary to our clinical and commercial expertise in hematology/oncology,” said Bruce Cozadd, chairman and chief executive officer of Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc. “As Celator is currently preparing a regulatory submission in the U.S. for VYXEOS, this acquisition would add a new orphan product with the potential for short- and long-term revenue generation and expansion of our international commercial platform.”
“The planned combination of Jazz and Celator is highly complementary, as both companies are dedicated to bringing differentiated therapies to patients who have high unmet medical needs,” said Scott Jackson, chief executive officer of Celator Pharmaceuticals. “We believe that Jazz Pharmaceuticals’ clinical and commercial expertise in hematology/oncology and existing international infrastructure will help realize the value of VYXEOS as a treatment to patients with AML. After thoroughly evaluating our strategic options, our board of directors has unanimously determined that this all-cash transaction is in the best interest of our stockholders.”
CPXX Profile
Celator Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, develops therapies to treat cancer. Its proprietary drug ratio technology platform, CombiPlex, enables the rational design and rapid evaluation of optimized combinations incorporating traditional chemotherapies, as well as molecularly targeted agents to deliver enhanced anti-cancer activity. The company’s product pipeline includes VYXEOS, a nano-scale liposomal formulation of irinotecan:floxuridine, which is in Phase III clinical testing for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia; CPX-351, a liposomal formulation of cytarabine:daunorubicin, which is in Phase III study for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia; and CPX-1, a liposomal formulation of irinotecan:floxuridine that has completed Phase II study for the treatment of colorectal cancer. Its preclinical stage product candidate is CPX-8, a hydrophobic docetaxel prodrug nanoparticle formulation for vitro and vivo studies. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Ewing, New Jersey.