Biotech company Tesaro's sale process is unlikely to result in a deal, sources familiar with the situation told CNBC.
There is nothing imminent at all, the sources said. The expectation the company had in terms of price were not met by the incoming expressions of interest it got from potential bidders, according to the sources.
Tesaro said it does not comment on market rumors.
Shares of Tesaro briefly fell more than 11 percent in morning trading Thursday, before recovering to a drop of about 8 percent. The stock is part of the iShares Nasdaq biotechnology ETF (IBB), which erased slight gains to move nearly 1 percent lower.
Tesaro two-day performance
Source: FactSet
On May 31, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that Tesaro is exploring a sale, but interest from bidders was lukewarm. The report estimated a potential deal could be worth more than $9 billion, given Tesaro's then market value of $7.4 billion.
Tesaro shares fell more than 7 percent from the time of the report through Wednesday's close.
The Journal article came about two months after the Food and Drug Administration approved Tesaro's key drug, niraparib. The drug treats recurrent ovarian cancer by inhibiting the production of proteins called PARPs, a highly sought after function for their potential in developing breakthrough cancer treatments.
— CNBC's Evelyn Cheng and Reuters contributed to this report.