Kite catches tailwind on Amgen deal

Kite Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ:KITE) jumped $9.14 (15%) to $69.75 on Monday after Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) agreed to use Kite's engineered autologous cell therapy (eACT) platform to develop chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies against Amgen's cancer targets.

Kite will receive $60 million up front and conduct preclinical development. The companies will form a joint steering committee to oversee development of all programs arising from the collaboration. Once INDs are filed for each program, either Kite and Amgen will develop, fund and own worldwide rights to them. Amgen spokesperson Kristin Davis said the companies are not disclosing how they will decide which company will take possession of each program. ...