Bristol Myers punts $4.1 billion on precision oncology company

Announcing its first M&A deal since 2020, Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) today said it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire US biotech Turning Point Therapeutics (Nasdaq: TPTX) for $76.00 per share, sending the latter’s stock rocketing 116% to $73.76 by mid-morning. Turning Points’ stock had fallen by a third since the start of the year, setting the stage for a buyout, observers noted.

The transaction, which aims to deepen the biopharmaceutical major’s position in lung-cancer treatments, was unanimously approved by both the Bristol Myers and Turning Point’s boards of directors and is anticipated to close during the third quarter of 2022.

Turning Point is a clinical-stage precision oncology company with a pipeline of investigational medicines designed to target the most common mutations associated with oncogenesis. Turning Point’s lead asset, repotrectinib, is a next-generation, potential best-in-class tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) targeting the ROS1 and NTRK oncogenic drivers of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and other advanced solid tumors. Repotrectinib has been granted three Breakthrough Therapy designations from the US Food and Drug Administration. In the Phase I/II TRIDENT-1 clinical trial, longer duration of response has been observed in the landmark analysis with repotrectinib than with existing ROS1 agents in first-line NSCLC.