By Colin Kellaher

Cytokinetics shares tumbled more than 20% on Thursday amid waning expectations that Swiss drugmaker Novartis would strike a deal to buy the heart-drug developer.

The Wall Street Journal on Monday had reported that Novartis was near a deal to buy Cytokinetics, sending shares of the South San Francisco, Calif., company soaring.

However, no deal emerged over the past couple of days, and The Journal on Thursday reported that Novartis had backed away from its pursuit of Cytokinetics, which has been running a sale process.

Cytokinetics shares were recently changing hands at $78.08, down 23%, and well below the 52-week high of $110.25 they hit Monday after The Journal's initial report.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 11, 2024 12:47 ET (17:47 GMT)

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