December 12, 2022
After Sanofi failed to acquire, Amgen announced its plan to acquire Horizon Therapeutics.
Amgen announced that it has agreed to acquire Horizon Therapeutics. With the acquisition, Amgen expects to strengthen its innovative medicines portfolio by adding the medicines of Horizon Therapeutics. Amgen is also expecting the growth of Horizon Therapeutics medicines with the acquisition.
With the acquisition, Amgen gets a cash flow of nearly $10 billion which is expected to spend on capital allocation priorities, including investment in research.
Amgen has agreed to pay $116.50 per share, a premium of 48% to the closing price in Horizon Therapeutics' share on November 29, 2022, and a 20% premium to the closing price of December 9, 2022. The enterprise value of the acquisition is nearly $28.3 billion.
On December 11, Sanofi announced that it had ended the discussions with Horizon on acquisition.
Amgen also acquired Chemocentryx giving it access to the active antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis therapy Tavneos (avacopan).
05 October 2022
Pfizer completed the acquisition of Global Blood Therapeutics.
Pfizer announced that it had completed the acquisition of Global Blood Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company involved in developing therapies for sickle cell disease (SCD).
Oxbryta (voxelotor) has received approval for treating sickle cell disease. GBT021601 (GBT601) and inclaclumab are the other investigational products in development for sickle cell disease and have received Orphan Drug and Rare Pediatric Disease designation.
Sickle cell disease is a life-long blood disorder characterized by hemolytic anemia, acute pain crises, and progressive end-organ damage.
01 September 2022
Novo Nordisk announced an agreement to acquire Forma Therapeutics.
Novo Nordisk and Forma Therapeutics announced that they have agreed to the acquisition of Forma Therapeutics by Novo Nordisk for $20 per share in cash. Novo Nordisk has agreed to pay $1.1 billion for this acquisition.
With this acquisition, Novo Nordisk aims to expand its presence in sickle cell disease and other rare blood disorders.
With the acquisition, Novo Nordisk gets commercial rights to the lead molecule, etavopivat. Etavopivat is an oral, once-daily, elective pyruvate kinase-R (PKR) activator that is intended to improve anemic condition and red blood cell health in people with sickle cell disease.
Novo Nordisk announced that it would fund the acquisition from its financial reserves.
August 17, 2022
BMS acquired Turning Point Therapeutics.
Bristol Myers Squibb announced that the acquisition of Turning Point Therapeutics had been completed. With the completion of the acquisition, Turning Point Therapeutics is now a subsidiary of BMS.
With the acquisition, BMS added products targeting common mutations associated with oncogenesis, including repotrectinib. BMS is anticipating the approval of repotrectinib for ROS1-positive NSCLC in the second half of 2023.
BMS has agreed to pay $76.00 per share for this acquisition.
August 16, 2022
GSK completed the acquisition of Affinivax.
GSK has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Affinivax. Affinivax is involved in the development of vaccines, including next-generation pneumococcal vaccines.
With the acquisition, GSK gets access to a 24-valent pneumococcal vaccine candidate (AFX3772) in Phase 2 development. The development was based on the Multiple Antigen Presenting System (MAPS) platform.
AFX3772 received Breakthrough Therapy designation to prevent S. pneumoniae invasive disease and pneumonia in adults 50 years and above.
May 10, 2022
Pfizer will acquire Biohaven Pharmaceuticals.
Pfizer and Biohaven Pharmaceuticals announced that they had entered an agreement under which Pfizer would acquire Biohaven Pharmaceuticals. Pfizer will pay $148.50 per share in cash, which results in $11.6 billion in cash. The transaction is expected to complete by early 2023.
Biohaven Pharmaceutical is the market authorization holder of Nurtec ODT (rimegepant), a compound for preventing and acute treatment of migraine.
With the acquisition, Pfizer will acquire
Rimegepant: Indicated for the treatment of migraine and prevention of migraine
Zavegepant: A intranasal spray for treating acute migraine
13 April, 2022
GSK to acquire Sierra Oncology for $1.9 billion
GSK and Sierra Oncology announced that GSK would acquire Sierra Oncology, a California-based biopharmaceutical company. Sierra Oncology is involved in developing therapies for rare forms of cancer.
The company's lead compound is momelotinib, developed to treat patients with myelofibrosis with anemia. The product is expected to get approval from the US FDA in Q2 this year and in the second half of this year in Europe. In January 2022, Sierra Oncology announced the positive results of the MOMENTUM phase III trial.
GSK will pay $55 per share, resulting in an approximate value of $1.9 billion.
Novo Nordisk acquired Dicerna Pharmaceuticals.
Novo Nordisk has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Dicerna Pharmaceuticals. Novo Nordisk acquired Dicerna by paying USD 38.25 per share in cash. With the acquisition, Dicerna Pharmaceuticals became a subsidy of Novo Nordisk. Further, the company said that Dicerna Pharmaceuticals would no longer be available on NYSE.
Dicerna Pharmaceuticals is involved in developing RNAi therapies. Its lead molecule, nedosiran, is in the Phase III stage for primary hyperoxaluria. Several other molecules are in the development for different liver diseases.
Sanofi to acquire Amunix for $1.23 billion
Sanofi announced that it had entered an agreement to acquire Amunix Pharmaceuticals, an immuno-oncology company. With the acquisition, Sanofi gets access to the XTEN and innovative universal protease-releasable masking technology platform, Pro-XTENTM, helping identify T-cell engagers (TCE) and cytokine therapies for cancer.
The acquisition also gives rights to the lead candidate, AMX-818, a preclinical stage product that is in development for solid tumors. Further, there are nearly 20 molecules in the developmental stage.
XTEN masks and cleavable linkers mask the biologics and circulate in the blood in “stealth” mode. Biologics will become active once they reach the specific site, reducing adverse events. The technology helps to avoid events like cytokine release syndrome.
The acquisition was expected to complete by Q1 2022.
December 2021
Novartis to acquire UK based Gyroscope Therapeutics, adding gene therapy for geographic atrophy
Novartis announced that it had entered an agreement to acquire Gyroscope Therapeutics, a UK-based ocular gene therapy company. This acquisition follows the acquisition of other companies, including Vedere Bio and Arctos Medical, strengthening the Novartis ophthalmology portfolio.
The company will gain rights to GT005, AAV2-based gene therapy for geographic atrophy by the acquisition. The safety and efficacy of GT005 are under evaluation in one Phase 1/2 trials and two Phase 2 trials.
The drug is believed to act by increasing the CFI protein, thereby reducing the inflammation, the goal being to preserve the patient's eyesight. The product has received fast-track designation from the US FDA to treat geographic atrophy.
Gyroscope Therapeutics has other molecules in the early pipeline for eye diseases.
As per the agreement, Novartis will make an upfront payment of 0.8 billion and an additional 0.7 billion based on the milestones.
Novartis, in its statement, announced that nearly 8 million patients are suffering from geographic atrophy, and there are no authorized therapies to treat the same. Geographic atrophy is an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration.
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