Benzinga | May 5, 2021 07:00AM EDT

Athenex Shares Gain After Acquiring Kuur Therapeutics For $70M Cash, $115M Milestone Payments

* Athenex Inc (NASDAQ: ATNX) shares have risen during premarket trading in reaction to acquiring Kuur Therapeutics Inc, a portfolio company of IP Group plc, for $70 million upfront.

* Additionally, Kuur shareholders are eligible to receive up to $115 million of milestone payments.

* Kuur is a clinical-stage biotech company focused on developing off-the-shelf CAR-NKT cell immunotherapies for the treatment of solid and hematological malignancies.

* Johnson Lau, Chief Executive Officer of Athenex, said: "We are excited to add Kuur Therapeutics and its innovative allogeneic CAR-NKT technology to the Athenex platform. Kuur's innovative technology, combined with our TCR program, could propel us into a leadership position in cell therapy."

* Price Action: ATNX shares are up 45.5% at $5.4 during the premarket session on the last check Wednesday.