Mirati stockholders will also receive one non-tradeable contingent value right for each Mirati share held, potentially worth $12.00 per share in cash, representing an additional $1.0 billion of value opportunity. The transaction was unanimously approved by both the BMS and the Mirati boards of directors.

This acquisition will add Krazati, a lung cancer drug which was approved last December, to BMS' commercial portfolio and provides access to several promising clinical compounds that complement its oncology pipeline and are good candidates for single agent and combination strategy development.

Another compound, MRTX1719, is a potential first-in-class MTA-cooperative PRMT5 inhibitor in Phase 1 development which has shown early efficacy data across several tumor types with MTAP deletion. The start of a Phase 2 clinical trial for MRTX1719 is expected in the first half of 2024.

The transaction, which BMS expects to finance with a combination of cash and debt, is anticipated to close by the first half of 2024, subject to fulfillment of customary closing conditions.

Giovanni Caforio, CEO and board chair of Bristol-Myers Squibb, said. “With a strong strategic fit, great science and clear value creation opportunities for our shareholders, the Mirati transaction is aligned with our business development goals.”

“With multiple targeted oncology assets including Krazati, Mirati is another important step forward in our efforts to grow our diversified oncology portfolio and further strengthen Bristol-Myers Squibb’s pipeline for the latter half of the decade and beyond,” added Bristol Myers Squibb’s EVP, COO and CEO-elect, Chris Boerner.

Charles Baum, founder, president and CEO of Mirati, commented: “Since our founding ten years ago, Mirati has made significant strides in transforming the lives of patients living with cancer through the development of innovative therapies. Through our discovery and development of next-generation targeted cancer therapeutics, we have built a robust pipeline of potentially best-in-class treatments that offer renewed hope for patients.”