Dec 10 (Reuters) - French biotech company Abivax's shares jumped by 20% on Wednesday on market rumours that U.S. pharma giant Eli Lilly might be interested in bidding for the business. The "share
Abivax Shares Rise on Rumors of Eli Lilly Takeover Bid
Dec 10 (Reuters) - French biotech company Abivax's shares jumped by 20% on Wednesday on market rumours that U.S. pharma giant Eli Lilly might be interested in bidding for the business.
The "share price movement is driven by speculation around a possible takeover," said Damien Choplain, analyst at Stifel.
Abivax and Eli Lilly did not respond to initial requests for comment.
The French company announced in July positive results from a Phase 3 trial of its key drug obefazimod for the treatment of ulcerative colitis, sending its Paris-listed shares soaring over 500% in a day, and filed for an offering of up to $400 millions in American Depositary Shares.
By 1007 GMT on Wednesday, the stock was on track for an 18-fold increase in value since the beginning of the year, having reached a market valuation of over 8 billion euros ($9.3 billion), up from just 500 million euros in January.
($1 = 0.8595 euros)
(Reporting by Alessandro Parodi, Gianluca Lo Nostro and Danilo Masoni, editing by Matt Scuffham)
