Did You Buy Astex Stock?

(RTTNews) - Astex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ASTX) is all set to be acquired by Japanese drugmaker Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd for approximately $886 million in cash, which equates to $8.50 per share.

ASTX was one of our stock picks in January of 2012 when it was trading at $1.94. Since then, the stock has had a great run, and it touched a nine-year high of $9.39 on Wednesday (Sep.4, 2013) before closing at $8.27. Had you bought ASTX last January, you would have made a gain of 338% based on the price offered by Otsuka.

Astex is one of the pioneers of fragment-based drug discovery - an approach that involves the use of relatively small and simple molecules to bind with a target protein in the making of lead compounds. The fragment-based drug discovery approach of Astex is known as Pyramid.

The company has one marketed drug Dacogen, a cancer medication; two lead clinical development candidates SGI-110, evaluated for a variety of hematological and solid tumor oncology indications, and AT13387, being tested in the treatment of prostate and lung cancers, and five partner-funded programs.

Otsuka intends to effect the acquisition of Astex through a tender offer and expects to close the transaction early in the fourth quarter of 2013, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

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