Allergan expands NASH portfolio with $1.7 billion in acquisitions
pharmafile | September 21, 2016 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Akarna Therapeutics, Allergan, Tobira Therapeutics, acqusition, nash
Allergan has gone on a spending spree this week, snapping up clinical-stage biotech Tobira Therapeutics and privately-held Akarna Therapeutics for a total of over £1.7 billion in 24 hours in an effort to bolster its non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) treatment portfolio.
Tobira Therapeutics focuses on the development of treatments for NASH and other liver diseases. Allergan has entered into a unanimous definitive agreement to acquire the company for an upfront payment of $28.35 per share in cash and up to $49.84 per share in milestone payments for a total potential valuation of up to $1.695 billion.
Allergan acquires a portfolio including Cenicriviroc (CVC), an immunomodulator that blocks two chemokine receptors, CCR2 and CCR5, which are involved in the inflammatory and fibrogenic pathways in NASH that cause liver damage and often lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer or liver failure, and Evogliptin, an oral DPP-4 (Dipeptidyl peptidase-4) inhibitor for the potential treatment of NASH.
“The acquisition of Tobira is a strategic R&D investment within a white space area of our global gastroenterology franchise and an opportunity to advance the development of novel treatments for NASH,” said Brent Saunders, CEO and president of Allergan. “With this acquisition, Allergan will now have one of the strongest portfolios of development stage programs for the treatment of NASH, with Cenicriviroc as the cornerstone. We will continue to look for differentiated development-stage assets that can bolster this position and enhance our commitment to innovation in this disease.”
“I am extremely excited to see Tobira and Allergan come together,” added Laurent Fischer, CEO of Tobira Therapeutics. “The combination of our team’s innovation in the NASH space and the infrastructure, development expertise and world-class ability of Allergan to market medicines will enable us to more rapidly develop and commercialise needed medications for patients suffering from NASH and other serious fibrotic diseases around the world.”
Pending approvals, Allergan anticipates closing the transaction by the end of 2016.
Akarna Therapeutics is a privately-held company focusing on the development of AKN-083, another potential treatment for NASH. Allergan has acquired the company for $50 million and additional milestone payments, with Saunders commenting: “The acquisition of Akarna adds to our strategic approach to investing in innovation to advance the treatment of NASH for millions of patients who currently do not have therapeutic options to treat the disease.”
Matt Fellows
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