Genmab Surges on Johnson & Johnson Cancer Pact: Copenhagen Mover

Genmab A/S (GEN), a Danish biotechnology company, rose the most in more than a year after it said Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) licensed its experimental treatment for multiple myeloma.

Genmab shares rose as much as 25 percent, the biggest intraday gain since Aug. 9, 2011, and were up 20 percent to 81 kroner as of 10:25 a.m. in Copenhagen.

The agreement with J&J’s Janssen unit for daratumumab may be worth at least $1.1 billion, including an upfront payment of $55 million, milestone payments, and an $80 million equity investment, Genmab said in a statement today. Daratumumab is a monoclonal antibody that may have potential in treating other types of cancers such as acute myeloid leukemia, Genmab said.

“Much had been anticipated from a licensing deal for daratumumab and we believe this deal has more than met the expectation,” Nomura Code analyst Samir Devani said in a note to investors today.

Genmab shares have more than doubled this year, giving the Copenhagen-based company a market value of 3.62 billion kroner.

To contact the reporter on this story: Makiko Kitamura in London at mkitamura1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Toby Alder at talder@bloomberg.net; Kim McLaughlin at kmclaughlin6@bloomberg.net