Zymeworks (NYSE:ZYME) stock is climbing higher on Wednesday after the company signed a licensing agreement with Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ).
This agreement has Jazz Pharmaceuticals acquiring development and commercialization rights to zanidatamab. These rights cover the U.S., Europe and Japan as well as all other countries where the drug hasn’t previously been licensed.
Zanidatamab is a “bispecific antibody” that targets HER2-expressing cancers. Studies of the drug have seen anti-tumor activity against several cancers of this type. That includes its use as a monotherapy as well as when combined with other treatments.
It’s also worth mentioning that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted zanidatamab a “Breakthrough Therapy” designation. This allows patients with previously treated HER2-expressing biliary tract cancer (BTC) to seek the drug out for treatment. Zanidatamab also has two “Fast Track” designations that should help speed up its development.
Terms of the Deal
Zymeworks is getting an upfront payment of $50 million from Jazz Pharmaceuticals as part of the agreement. It’s also eligible for a second one-time payment of $325 million, regulatory milestone payments of up to $525 million and as much as $862.5 million in “potential commercial milestone payments.”
Today’s news has ZYME stock experiencing heavy trading. As of this writing, more than 3 million shares of the stock have been traded. That’s quite the boost compared to its daily average trading volume of about 650,000 shares.
ZYME stock is up 13.2% as of Wednesday morning.
Investors seeking more recent stock market news are in the right place!
InvestorPlace is home to all of the latest stock market news for Wednesday! That includes why shares of Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) stock are gaining, this morning’s biggest pre-market stock movers and more. You can check out all of this news at the links below!
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On the date of publication, William White did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
