Cancer Therapy Boosts Appeal of Juno, Kite as Targets: Real M&A

Amid a frenzy of biotechnology acquisitions, a clutch of companies working on a revolutionary cancer treatment have yet to be snatched up. That may be only a matter of time.

Juno Therapeutics Inc., Kite Pharma Inc., Bluebird Bio Inc. and Cellectis SA are among firms working on CAR T, a gene therapy that supercharges the immune system. They may prove enticing to large drugmakers, even if questions persist about whether promising results from small trials can be widely replicated.