US pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson has acquired the licenses to a monoclonal antibody that is to be used, among other things, to combat bone marrow cancer. As part of this movement, the company has acquired a 10% stake in Danish biotechnology firm Genmab. Following this news, shares in Genmab on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange temporarily rose by more than 21%.
For the license, Genmab receives the equivalent of $55 million. Approximately $80 million will also be added from the sale of 5.4 million shares to Johnson & Johnson in a private placement. However, the eventual price could rise to as much as $1 billion, if the substance Daratumumab achieves predetermined development, regulatory and sales milestones.