Shares of Sunesis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SNSS) stock are blasting off on Monday to start the week. And it appears that this bump comes after some major mergers and acquisitions (M&A) news.
The biopharmaceutical company announced that it entered a definitive merger agreement with Viracta Therapeutics. Viracta is a private biotechnology firm that uses precision oncology to target virus-associated malignancies, essentially meaning viruses that can cause cancer in humans. Additionally, Viracta has an impressive pipeline of treatments.
That said, let’s take a look at a few important notes from the SNSS stock merger:
- Upon completion of the deal, the two companies will become solely Viracta Therapeutics, and trade under the ticker VIRX.
- According to the release, this new firm will focus on “developing Viracta’s precision oncology pipeline targeting virus-associated malignancies.”
- This includes Viracta’s lead program for the treatment of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive relapsed/refractory lymphomas.
- On that note, Viracta expects to start a registration trial for the treatment of EBV-positive lymphoma during the first half of 2021,
- The firm also hopes to initiate a Phase 1b/2 trial in EBV-positive solid tumors during the year.
- Overall, the combined company will have a $120 million cash balance after the merger officially closes.
SNSS stock was up 25% as of Monday morning.
On the date of publication, Nick Clarkson did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
Nick is a web editor at InvestorPlace.
