Major biotech stocks like Celgene (CELG - Free Report) , Biogen (BIIB - Free Report) and AbbVie (ABBV - Free Report) reported fourth quarter results last week. Meanwhile, Catabasis’ (CATB - Free Report) shares plunged on data from an ongoing study on its lead pipeline candidate.

Recap of the Week’s Most Important Stories

A Look at Earnings Results: Companies like Celgene, Biogen and AbbVie reported fourth quarter results last week. While Celgene missed on both earnings and revenues, both Biogen and AbbVie missed on revenues. Biogen’s revenue outlook also fell short of expectations. Meanwhile, 2017 will be a year of significant R&D investment for AbbVie.

Catabasis Plunges on DMD Study Data: Catabasis suffered a major setback with its lead pipeline candidate edasalonexent failing to meet the primary endpoint in Part B of the MoveDMD study for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The company intends to report results from the open-label extension portion (Part C) of the study this year with an interim update in the second quarter. Once additional analysis of data from the open-label extension is conducted, the company will determine the next steps for the candidate in DMD. Shares were down 70.8% on the data. Over the last one year, the company has significantly underperformed the Zacks-categorized Medical-Biomedical/Genetics industry with shares declining 80.8% during this period compared to the industry decline of 7.1%.

Incyte Expands Immuno-Oncology Pipeline with Calithera Deal: Incyte announced that it will be acquiring global rights to Calithera Biosciences’ CB-1158 for hematology and oncology indications. With this agreement, Incyte will be expanding its immune-oncology pipeline. CB-1158 is a first-in-class, small molecule arginase inhibitor which is being studied as a monotherapy and has the potential to be evaluated in combination with immuno-oncology agents, including anti-PD-1 therapy. Arginase-expressing tumor-infiltrating myeloid cells could play an important role in orchestrating the immune suppressive microenvironment in cancer.

The deal will see Incyte shelling out $45 million upfront and making an equity investment worth $8 million. Terms of the deal also include profit sharing in the U.S., milestone payments and royalties. Calithera’s shares soared 46.7% on the deal.

Celgene to Buy Delinia, Actelion to be Acquired by J&J: Celgene announced that it will be acquiring privately-held biotech company Delinia in a deal that could see the company shelling out up to $775 million -- this includes an upfront payment of $300 million and additional payments of up to $475 million on the achievement of certain development, regulatory and commercial milestones. With this acquisition, scheduled to close in the first quarter, Celgene is looking to expand its pipeline of next-generation medicines for the treatment of patients with autoimmune disorders. Celgene is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock.

Meanwhile, after weeks of discussion, J&J has agreed to shell out $280 per share to acquire Actelion in a deal scheduled to close in the second quarter of the year. The transaction also involves the spin-off of Actelion’s R&D unit into a new standalone Switzerland-based company.

XOMA Up on 358 Data: XOMA’s (XOMA - Free Report) shares reacted positively to news that the company has established proof-of-concept for 358 in congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) and hypoglycemia post-bariatric surgery (PBS). The company will shortly launch a multi-dose study in children with CHI aged 2 and above. Meanwhile, a multi-dose PBS study has been initiated.

Performance

Medical - Biomedical and Genetics Industry 5YR % Return

Medical - Biomedical and Genetics Industry 5YR % Return

The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index gained 2.9% over the last five trading days with the sector responding favorably to President Trump’s meeting with industry leaders. Among major biotech stocks, Regeneron (REGN - Free Report) was up 4.4% while Amgen (AMGN - Free Report) gained 3.6%. Over the last six months, Celgene was up 2.7% while Regeneron lost 16.3%.

What's Next in the Biotech World?

Watch out for earnings results from companies like Amgen and Gilead this week. Amgen is also expected to get a response from the FDA regarding the approval status of Parsabiv, for the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism (sHPT) in adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on hemodialysis.