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NEW YORK (AP) - Swiss drug maker Novartis AG said Wednesday it will acquire nearly 20 percent of Cambridge, Mass.-based biopharmaceutical company Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., as part of a deal to develop drugs based on manipulating natural genetic mechanisms.
Alnylam shares surged $4.19, or 44 percent, to close at $13.75 Wednesday on the Nasdaq, after hitting a new 52-week high of $13.91 earlier. Shares have traded at more than 46 times average volume, and have fluctuated between $5 and $11 over the past 52 weeks. The stock is up 85 percent so far this year.
Under the agreement, which is subject to antitrust review, Novartis will make an upfront payment of $56.8 million, or $11.11 per share, for about 4.2 million shares of Alnylam stock, in order to help Alnylam develop and market its RNA interference technology.
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