10 Micro-, Small-Cap Firms Were Last Week’s Top Performers

6. Chimerix Inc. (NASDAQ:CMRX)

Chimerix Inc. soared by 60.5 percent last week to end at $8.43 apiece versus the $5.25 price week-on-week, as investor sentiment was boosted by news that it was set to be acquired by Jazz Pharmaceuticals.

In a statement on Wednesday, Jazz said that it entered into a definitive agreement with CMRX to acquire the latter’s shares for $8.55 apiece for a total of $935 million.

Jazz said both parties expect to conclude the deal in the second quarter of the year.

The acquisition will allow Jazz to add CMRX’s clinical asset dordaviprone to its oncology research and development pipeline—a novel first-in-class small molecule treatment in development for H3 K27M-mutant diffuse glioma, a rare, high-grade brain tumor that most commonly affects children and young adults.

“We are encouraged by the dordaviprone clinical trial results to date and look forward to closing the proposed acquisition and working with our new colleagues from Chimerix to fully leverage our combined R&D and commercial expertise to deliver this novel therapy to patients, beginning as early as the second half of this year,” said Jazz Chairman and CEO Bruce Cozadd.