Why Zymeworks Stock Is Rocketing Higher on Friday

Zymeworks (NYSE: ZYME) stock is shooting through the roof today in response to a juicy buyout offer from a division of All Blue Capital. The Dubai-based private equity group appears to be reacting to new clinical trial data for the company's cancer drug candidate, zanidatamab. The stock has gained 35.9% as of 10:26 a.m. ET on Friday.

Zanidatamab is an antibody that targets HER2 receptors in an attempt to treat patients with different forms of bile duct cancer. Previous HER2 drugs, such as Herceptin, have been standard breast cancer treatments for decades. Zanidatamab's exciting because it offers a new variation on the old theme.

Developing new drugs gets exponentially more expensive as those drugs get closer to earning FDA approval. As a pre-commercial drug developer with limited resources, Zymeworks really isn't in a great position to eventually launch its experimental treatment if it can earn approval. This is one reason investors are thrilled with All Blue Capital's all-cash offer.

Source Fool.com