March 9, 2010, 6:15 p.m. EST
Shares of InterMune Inc. and Facet Biotech were on fire late Tuesday, with each jumping more than 60% as one company received a nod from a drug-regulatory panel while the other agreed to a buyout.
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Intermune jumped 65% to $38.31 in heavy trading. The shares had been halted since before the start of Tuesday's regular session. Late Tuesday, a panel at the FDA recommended that the agency approve InterMune's drug application for pirfenidone, a treatment for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The rare and fatal lung disease currently lacks an approved treatment.
The FDA isn't bound to the decisions of its advisory panels, but it generally follows them. Pirfenidone will be marketed under the Esbriet name if the FDA approves the treatment.
Facet shares (FACT
16.21, -0.30, -1.82%) skyrocketed 68% to $27.16 after Abbot Laboratories (ABT
54.80, +0.38, +0.70%) said it will acquire the company for $27 a share. The total purchase price of $722 million includes $272 million of Facet's cash and securities, resulting in a net cost of about $450 million, Abbott said in a statement.
Facet in December rejected a purchase offer of $17.50 a share from Biogen Idec Inc. ...
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Facet, InterMune shares light up in late trades After Hours - MarketWatch