April 25 Quick Takes: Final outcome for decades-old Spectrum is Assertio merger

Five months after a complete response letter scuttled poziotinib’s prospects in lung cancer, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:SPPI) has chosen to combine with specialty pharma Assertio Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ASRT) in a deal designed to strengthen the launch of Spectrum’s Rolvedon eflapegrastim-xnst, a G-CSF analog approved by FDA to reduce the incidence of febrile neutropenia in patients receiving myelosuppressive drugs. Spectrum’s shareholders will receive 0.1783 Assertio shares for each Spectrum share, suggesting Spectrum’s valuation to be $1.14 per share, or $248 million; the deal also includes a CVR. The company will keep Assertio’s name; Assertio’s shareholders will receive 65% of the combined company’s shares, and Spectrum’s the balance. Founded in 1987, Spectrum was known as NeoTherapeutics Inc. for a time, and assumed its current name in 2002.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR) said early data from a Phase I/II trial of ARO-RAGE to treat pulmonary disorders such as asthma represent a validation of the use of its Targeted RNAi Molecule (TRiM) platform with optimized delivery to the lungs. ARO-RAGE led to reductions in soluble RAGE among healthy volunteers; the study’s Part 2 will evaluate the therapy in patients with asthma. The biotech’s shares climbed $3.56 (12%) to $33.58 Tuesday, with its market cap rising to more than $3.6 billion...