+++NSTK. I look at it more as a very cheap call option for MRK.
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Been quite a few similarly structured deals of late. +++
Agree on both those counts. This type of deal is flavor of the day, although as Dew pointed out, the up-front is a pittance and shows no serious committment. On the other hand, Nastech incurrs no additional development costs and earns some manufacturing income.
I think that NSTK recognized that they are not able to pursue the many pipeline products, and chose to offload this on the cheap, so that it can be developed in a timely fashion.
I looked at the deal and decided that it was not worth a 35% increase in NSTK market cap. I sold all around 11. I also bought a few thousand cheap last week and you don't pass up that kind of short-term gain. I'll look to get in at around 9-10, if it gets there.
BTW, lost in all of this is that NSTK licensed patents from Thiakis that include nasal delivery of my old friend GLP-1 in conjunction with PYY for DM and obesity.
Regards,
Bob