Shares of health-care companies were lower amid deal news. Johnson & Johnson agreed to buy drugmaker Momenta Pharmaceuticals for about $6.5 billion, giving J&J entry into a potentially big-selling new class of drugs to treat certain autoimmune diseases.
Meanwhile, Roche agreed to help manufacture and distribute a promising investigational drug for Covid-19 being developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, a pairing of rivals that could more than triple supplies of the medicine if it is authorized by regulators, the companies said.
Biotech investors received two painful reminders of an old truth: There are no guarantees in drug development.
Gilead Sciences and its development partner Galapagos NV said on Tuesday that the Food and Drug Administration rejected an application to sell the experimental rheumatoid arthritis drug filgotinib.
Then, BioMarin Pharmaceutical said on Wednesday morning that regulators had turned down its application to sell its gene therapy treatment for severe hemophilia A.
In both cases, regulators want to see additional clinical data before approving the drugs, which means significant delays to realizing any sales or profits.
Write to Amy Pessetto at amy.pessetto@dowjones.com
