Cerus falls, spins off assets
Shares of Cerus Corp. (Nasdaq: CERS) are sagging following news after the close on Tuesday that the biopharmaceutical firm has spun-off certain assets from its immunotherapy programs.
The Concord, Calif.-based company, which makes treatments to inactivate blood-borne pathogens in donated blood, has spun-off its immunotherapy business to a newly formed independent company financed by venture capital firms. In return, Cerus has received an equity stake of about 15.5% and could receive up to an additional $1.5 million of equity in the new company or in cash.
Cerus could also receive over $90 million in royalty payments if the spun-off assets develop and commercialize vaccines.
“The completion of this transaction allows Cerus to focus organizational and financial resources solely on our core strengths in the blood safety business,” said Claes Glassell, president and CEO Claes Glassell in a statement.
At 3:53 p.m. ET, shares of Cerus Corp. (CERS) had lost $0.38, or 5%, to $7.76. The 52-week low of $5.11 was set on Jan. 8, while the 52-week high of $10.29 was touched on Oct. 15.
