Icagen Inc. (ICGN) takes flight on hint of Pfizer takeover

Posted on Monday, June 27th, 2011

Icagen Inc. (Nasdaq: ICGN) shares rocketed 113.8% to $5.13 after drug manufacturer Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) said in a regulatory filing late Friday that it was looking at a possible strategic alliance with the biopharmaceutical company. Volume for Icagen totaled 1.8 million shares in the early trading hours of Monday, compared to an all-day average of 71,000.

A news release was issued soon after the market closed on Friday, June 24. In the release, Icagen put out a statement in which it acknowledged that it is currently engaged in preliminary discussions with Pfizer regarding a potential strategic transaction, but, quote “no definitive agreement has been reached.

“There can be no assurance that any agreement will be reached,” the statement continued, “or that a transaction will be consummated. Icagen does not plan to make future announcements with respect to this matter unless and until its Board of Directors has approved a specific transaction or an extension or other modification of the existing collaboration agreement and it has entered into a definitive agreement or the current discussions have terminated.”

Icagen, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel orally-administered small molecule drugs that modulate ion channel targets. Utilizing its proprietary know-how and integrated scientific and drug development capabilities, Icagen has identified multiple drug candidates that modulate ion channels.

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