Biopharmaceutical giant Celgene will purchase Juno Therapeutics for $9 billion in a move to expand in the increasingly competitive cancer treatment landscape, reports Bloomberg.
Celgene will gain access to Juno's pipeline of CAR-T cancer drugs, which are a novel class of therapies that genetically alter patients' immune cells to attack cancer.
Celgene, which currently owns a 9.7 percent stake in Juno, will pay $87 a share for the rest of the company.
The deal is part of Celgene's plan to help offset upcoming revenue loss as a result of competition. The drugmaker's top-selling blood cancer drug, Revlimid, is expected to face competition in the upcoming years after its patent expires.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal year 2018.