By Sabrina Valle
NEW YORK, March 12 (Reuters) – Biotechnology company Abivax on Thursday dismissed a report by French media publication La Lettre saying it had granted AstraZeneca exclusive access to confidential information until March 23 to allow the British drugmaker to formalize a takeover offer.
“We deny the information, these are unfounded rumors,” a spokesperson said.
Abivax shares were up as much as 17% earlier on Thursday after the initial report, but pared gains through the day, with the decline accelerating after the spokesperson’s denial. The shares were last up 2.8%.
The French biotech has previously denied takeover stories by the French media. In January, Abivax Chief Executive Marc de Garidel dismissed another report by La Lettre that his company was an acquisition target of Eli Lilly.
Investors looking to profit from Abivax’s fluctuating stock price have encouraged acquisition talks over the past months.
The French clinical‑stage company focuses on treatments for chronic inflammatory diseases.
Abivax is expected to report in late June initial Phase 3 maintenance data for obefazimod in ulcerative colitis. If successful, this would significantly reduce the risk in investing in the company and make it a safer, but likely more expensive, target for acquisition.
(Reporting by Sabrina Valle in New York; additional reporting by Alun John in London and Alessandro Parodi in Gdansk; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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