BioLineRx Surges after Hep C License Agreement

Shares of low-float biopharma company BioLineRx BLRX are seeing much strength during Tuesday's trading session as the Hep C merger-hype continues. BioLineRx announced an exclusive license agreement with Genoscience, a French company focused on viral disease therapeutics, to develop and commercialize BL-8020, an orally available treatment for Hepatitis C. BL-8020 has been developed for anti-viral therapy by Professor Philippe Halfon, Co-Founder and President of Genoscience. Prof. Halfon is a founder of several biotechnology companies and is world renowned for his work on HIV (AIDS virus), HPV (human papilloma virus causing cervical cancer) and Hepatitis. This comes after Bristol Meyers Squibb BMY shelled out $2.5 billion in cash for Inhibitex INHX and Gilead Sciences GILD ponied up another $10.8 billion for Pharmassett VRUS, as the Hep C market continues to be in the limelight. Currently, BioLineRx is trading up over 93% at $6.37, or up 98% on the year.