Nastassia Samal
Drug developers targeting liver diseases were among the notable gainers on Monday after Gilead (NASDAQ:GILD) agreed to acquire CymaBay Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CBAY), a leading biopharma in the industry, for $4.3B in cash.
Per the terms, GILD, widely known for its robust HIV drug business, will acquire Newark, California-based CymaBay (CBAY) in a deal expected to close in Q3 2024.
Concurrently, CBAY announced that the FDA granted priority review for its lead asset, seladelpar, for a rare liver disease called Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC), setting an action date of Aug. 14.
Biotechs such as Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (MDGL) and Akero Therapeutics (AKRO), whose pipelines include drugs targeted at the liver disease non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), have posted double-digit percentage gains.
Inventiva (IVA), 89bio (ETNB), Genfit (GNFT), Sagimet Biosciences (SGMT) and nano-cap biotech CohBar (OTC:CWBR) are among the other notable NASH developers to record sizable gains.