J&J to Purchase Tumor-Antibody Biotech Ambrx for $2 Billion

Johnson & Johnson will pay $2 billion in cash to acquire Ambrx Biopharma Inc., gaining a developer of widely sought therapies that target tumors with lethal drugs.

J&J will pay $28 a share for Ambrx, according to a statement Monday, or just over double the firm’s Friday closing price of $13.63. Ambrx is developing drugs to target multiple cancers in the prostate, breast and other tissues. The biotech’s shares rose as much as 98% at the New York market open, while J&J’s were little changed.