Bluebird bio Inc.'s stock surged 3.7% in premarket trade Thursday, after the biotechnology company said it entered into a exclusive license agreement with ViroMed to develop cancer treatments. As part of the agreement, ViroMed will provide exclusive rights to its novel humanized antibody. Bluebird will make a $1 million upfront payment to ViroMed, and could make subsequent milestone payments that could total over $48 million per licensed product. "Over the course of 2015, bluebird has continued to expand its immuno-oncology research and preclinical programs, building a broad pipeline of multiple targets in solid and hematologic malignancies," said Rob Ross, head of oncology at Bluebird. "We are pleased to enter this agreement with ViroMed and add their novel target to our growing pipeline." Bluebird's stock has tumbled 37% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF has lost 1.4% and the S&P 500 has gained 6.6%.
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