Intrexon (XON) Stock Spikes Today on Developmental Collaboration with Merck Serono

Intrexon (XON) shares are gaining on heavy volume today following CAR-T treatment collaboration with Merck Serono.

By Tony Owusu , Mar 30, 2015 10:29 AM EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Intrexon (XON) - Get Report shares are up 8.85% to $46.87 on heavy volume in early market trading today after the company announced a strategic collaboration and license agreement to develop and commercialize its chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) cancer therapies with Merck Serono today.

Merck Serono, which is a separate entity from Merck (MRK) - Get Report, hopes to jointly develop a therapy for the CAR-T cells which are genetically engineered T cells with synthetic receptors that recognize and bind to cancerous cells, which in turn signals the body's natural immunological defenses to begin defending against the cancerous cells.

"The collaboration with Intrexon underlies Merck Serono's focus on innovation, and enhances its R&D technology portfolio in immuno-oncology. Moreover, it showcases Merck Serono's commitment to developing therapies that have the potential to significantly evolve the way cancer is treated," said Merck Serono CEO Belen Garijo.

In a separate deal also announced today, Intrexon will enter into a global collaborative agreement to independently conduct research and develop other CAR-T candidates with ZIOPHARM Oncology (ZIOP) - Get Report with Merck Serono being given the opportunity to opt into any developmental treatments showing potential.

Intrexon announced that it will share the economic provisions of this collaboration, including upfront payment, milestones and royalties, equally with ZIOPHARM.

TheStreet Ratings team rates INTREXON CORP as a Hold with a ratings score of C-. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate INTREXON CORP (XON) a HOLD. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed - some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and solid stock price performance. However, as a counter to these strengths, we find that the growth in the company's earnings per share has not been good."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows: