Assembly Biosciences Shares Rise as Gilead Vet Takes Helm
August 07 2019 - 12:44PM
Dow Jones News
By Colin Kellaher
Shares of Assembly Biosciences Inc. (ASMB) rose more than 10%
Wednesday after the biotechnology company said former Gilead
Sciences Inc. (GILD) research chief John McHutchison has taken the
helm as president and CEO.
The South San Francisco, Calif., clinical-stage company, which
is developing therapeutics targeting the hepatitis B virus, said
Mr. McHutchison has led the research and development of five
marketed therapies for chronic hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis
C.
Gilead last month said Mr. McHutchison was stepping down as
chief scientific officer and head of research and development after
nine years with the company.
Analysts at SVB Leerink said Assembly "could not have secured a
more qualified candidate and leader," adding that they expect a
smooth C-suite transition.
"Dr. McHutchison's expertise in hepatitis drug development, and
his standing in the industry, should offer considerable validation
that the early clinical signals regarding the potential of
Assembly's HBV core inhibitors are indeed suggestive of
transformational potential for the drug class," said SVB, which has
an "outperform" rating on the stock.
Shares of Assembly recently were up 11.8% to $13.26.
Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 07, 2019 12:29 ET (16:29 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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