By Colin Kellaher
Shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals tumbled nearly 20% in premarket trading Thursday after the biopharmaceutical company said its strategic review didn’t yield any takeover offers, and that it was shifting its focus to the commercial execution of its Lupkynis business.
Aurinia shares, which closed Wednesday at $7.97, were recently down nearly 20% to $6.41 in premarket trading.
Aurinia said it is ending development of its AUR200 and AUR300 programs as part of moves aimed at achieving annual operational cost savings of $50 million to $55 million annually.
The Edmonton, Alberta, company also said it plans to buy back up to $150 million in stock.
Aurinia, which sports a market capitalization topping $1.1 billion, last June launched a review of strategic options and retained JPMorgan Chase as its financial adviser for the process.
However, Aurinia on Thursday said it engaged with more than 60 parties but received only one non-binding expression of interest, which the company said included a due-diligence process but didn’t result in a formal offer.
Aurinia said it has determined that its best path forward is to streamline its operations and focus on the commercial execution of its Lupkynis drug for adults with active lupus nephritis.
Write to Colin Kellaher at [email protected]
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