Novartis Bows Out of Gamida Deal

Negotiations to buy Israeli stem cell therapies developer Gamida cell have been terminated, Gamida’s parent company said on Thursday.

In March, Elbit Imaging — which owns a 30.8 percent stake — said Gamida had received a buyout offer worth hundreds of millions of dollars from an unnamed global pharmaceutical company. Israeli media had identified the interested buyer as Swiss drugmaker Novartis.

In a statement, Elbit did not provide further details of the termination of the possible purchase but it said that along with Gamida, it was evaluating the consequences.

Gamida is developing a pipeline of products to treat a wide range of conditions, including blood cancers and solid tumors. Its StemEx treatment is being tested as part of a transplant regimen for patients with high risk leukaemia and lymphoma.

Other Gamida shareholders include Clal Biotechnology Industries, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Amgen, Denali Ventures, Auriga Ventures and Israel Healthcare Venture.

Elbit Medical is 86 percent owned by Elbit Imaging.

Elbit Medical’s shares were down 35 percent at midday in Tel Aviv, while Elbit Imaging’s shares were 13 percent lower and Clal Biotech’s shares were losing 10 percent.

This article appeared in print on page 7 of the May 2nd, 2014 edition of Hamodia.