Brain cancer drugmaker Chimerix soars 70% on announcement of acquisition by peer

Shares of Chimerix, a small-cap cancer drugmaker, surged more than 70% today, March 6, after the company announced that it would be acquired at a premium by a larger peer, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, which seeks to strengthen its position in the oncology space. Chimerix's lead drug candidate treats brain tumors with a specific mutation. Noble Capital Markets points out that if approved, it could become a breakthrough treatment.

As of this writing today, Chimerix has skyrocketed more than 70% on the Nasdaq to $8.46 per share, buoyed by the news that the company would be acquired by Jazz Pharmaceuticals. The deal values Chimerix at around $935 million, or $8.55 per share, representing a 72% premium to the closing price on March 4, the day before the acquisition was announced. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025.

Chimerix is a biotech company developing treatments for people with serious diseases who often have limited or no therapeutic options. In 2021, the U.S. FDA approved its first drug, TEMBEXA, to treat smallpox. In 2022, Chimerix sold it to Emergent BioSolutions for $238 million, as well as potential milestone payments and royalties.

The company is now focused on cancer treatments. Its lead candidate, dordaviprone, is designed to treat an aggressive form of brain cancer known as H3 K27M-mutant glioma, which primarily affects children and young adults, as Noble Capital notes. The FDA has yet to approve any treatments for this cancer, with radiation being the standard approach for now.

Dordaviprone has completed clinical trials and is currently under regulatory review for approval. The FDA is expected to make a decision on August 18, 2025, according to Noble Capital. If approved, Dordaviprone  could become a breakthrough treatment and may qualify for a rare pediatric disease priority review voucher, which can be redeemed to receive priority review for any other drug in its pipeline. The FDA has introduced this program to incentivize drug development for rare pediatric diseases. Such vouchers may also be “sold as an asset at a very high valuation,” as previously noted by K. Robinson Lewis, vice president at MAIA Biotechnology, which owns a drug that has received this designation. The law firm Venable estimates that, on average, 5-10 of these vouchers are sold annually, as Pharmaceutical-technology.com pointed out in a January feature. GlobalData puts the average price of a voucher at $100 million.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals hopes for dordaviprone to be approved and available to patients in the second half of 2025. It expects the acquisition to further diversify its portfolio, according to the press release.

Chimerix stock is up 143% for the year to date and almost 600% over the last 12 months. According to MarketWatch, out of the five analysts covering the name, two have “buy” recommendations, while three rate it a “hold.” Their average target price is $8.23 per share, below the current market price.