Foundation Medicine Inc (NASDAQ:FMI) shares were nearly 28% higher in pre-market deals as it emerged that the Swiss drugs giant Roche would pay US$2.4bn to buy the part of the business it does not already own.
The acquisition deal was said to continue to tap into promising biotechnology as a strategy to drive financial growth.
The agreement is worth US$137 per share, which represents a near 29% premium to the US$106.45 closing price of Foundation Medicine's shares Monday.
Elsewhere, Tellurian Inc (NASDAQ:TELL), the Houston-based natural gas company, dropped around 10% before the opening bell to US$9.78 as it announced the pricing of its public offering of stock. It will issue 12 million shares for US$118.8mln gross.
Elsewhere, toy making giant Mattell Inc (NASDAQ:MAT), which produces Barbie dolls, lost 1.9% to US$17.44 in pre-market as it continues to struggle to regain its footing after the shutdown of one of its biggest customers, Toys R Us. The company is currently undergoing a US$650mln program to save costs.
PTC Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:PTCT) shares pulled back slightly 0.9% to US$47.51 in the early going after a near 30% gain Monday. The company was the subject of a number of notes after updated interim data was posted on an experimental spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) therapy. The treatment had been co-developed by the company, Roche Holding AG and the SMA Foundation.
It showed that more than 90% of the 21 babies enrolled in the first part of an open-label study experienced a greater than four-point increase on a test designed to measure motor milestone development of patients with SMA type 1.
--Corrects name of PTC Therapeutics, updates share price--