Ambrx Biopharma’s stock experienced a strong surge last week after a takeover offer from healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J). The Ambrx Biopharma stock shot up by 102% after J&J’s offer, which aims to broaden its oncology portfolio by acquiring the biopharmaceutical company. The deal is intended to help design, develop, and market targeted oncology therapeutics, for which the healthcare conglomerate is paying approximately $2 billion.

A healthcare giant from the USA with a long tradition… Johnson & Johnson is an American company founded in 1886 by brothers Robert, James, and Edward Johnson. The company is headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA and is now an internationally operating company with over 130,000 employees worldwide.

The corporation is an international manufacturer and provider of health care products. Its portfolio includes both prescription and over-the-counter drugs, including treatments for fungal infections, wound ointments, cosmetics, eye drops, pain relievers, and contact lenses. Through acquisitions, the company has also expanded its presence in areas such as orthopedics, diabetes research, and cardiology, and also sells drugs to treat diseases such as psoriasis and rheumatism.

In addition, J&J sells a variety of medical devices, from measuring equipment to contact lenses and artificial joints.

In the past fiscal year of 2022, the company generated a net profit of $17.9 billion on a revenue of $94.94 billion.

…offers $2 billion for Ambrx Biopharma JNJ is now offering $28 in cash for each Ambrx share. This corresponds to a company value of $2 billion. Ambrx is driving a focused portfolio of clinical and preclinical programs aimed at optimizing the efficacy and safety of its therapeutic candidates in various cancer indications.

Antibody-drug conjugates, or ADCs, are the next generation of biopharmaceutical drugs. The goal of these therapies is to precisely deliver drugs to the desired location in the body using highly specific antibodies, such as targeting specific surface features of cancer cells.

Ambrx was spun off from The Scripps Research Institute in 2003. The company has pioneered the technology platform of the expanded genetic code for incorporating synthetic amino acids (SAAs) into proteins at any desired location using standard cell lines.

Ambrx’s revenues have been extremely modest so far: In the first half of 2023, the company generated a net loss of $33 million on a revenue of $1.15 million.

Closing expected in the first half of the year The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2024, subject to approval by Ambrx shareholders and customary regulatory approvals. With this acquisition, Johnson & Johnson aims to take advantage of the opportunity to develop and market targeted cancer therapies.

Ambrx stock close to acquisition price Investors currently seem to have no doubts about the deal going through. The stock shot up by 102% and is currently trading at $27.97, almost at the level of the purchase offer of $28. Over the past 12 months, the stock has more than tripled in value.