J&J has de­cid­ed — phar­ma gi­ant dumps its de­vel­op­ment deal on Geron’s ime­tel­stat, shat­ter­ing shares

J&J has dumped its once high­ly tout­ed col­lab­o­ra­tion pact with Geron $GERN on ime­tel­stat.

Af­ter flag­ging an up­com­ing an­nounce­ment on Wednes­day night, Geron re­port­ed ear­ly Thurs­day that the phar­ma gi­ant opt­ed to punt the trou­bled pro­gram — once held up as one of its po­ten­tial block­busters in late-stage de­vel­op­ment.

Geron’s shares have been on a roller coast­er ride through­out the year as in­vestors bet on J&J’s $JNJ next move. At one point a job post­ing linked to the drug spurred a 42% spike in the share price as day traders hunt­ed for clues about this drug’s fate. As you can imag­ine, shorts have been an­tic­i­pat­ing a field day as well.

Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.

You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.

SIGN UP LOG IN BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER