BMS to buy hep C firm Inhibitex for $2.5 billion
pharmafile | January 9, 2012 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | BMS, Inhibitex, hep C
Bristol-Myers Squibb will acquire virology specialist Inhibitex for $2.5 billion, expanding its infectious disease portfolio.
Bristol-Myers Squibb will acquire the US biopharma firm for $26.00 per share, making the deal worth $2.5 billion in total.
It will take on the Inhibitex’s lead drug INX-189 in the deal, an oral nucleotide polymerase (NS5B) inhibitor currently in Phase II development.
BMS says nucleotides/nucleosides are emerging as an important class of antivirals that may play a critical role as the backbone of future direct-acting antiviral-only combination approaches to HCV treatment.
A key test for the drug’s prospects is likely later this year, when analysts expect the release of its Phase II study results.
The results will need to be impressive as analysts will be comparing INX-189 to new oral protease inhibitors – namely Johnson and Johnson/Vertex’s Incivek (telaprevir), and Merck’s Victrelis (boceprevir), both of which were launched in the US and Europe last year.
These drugs are set to take a large market share from existing injectable interferon treatments, which includes Roche’s Pegasys and Merck’s PegIntron.
Both drugs are licensed to be used with these existing interferon treatments, and are forecast to make around $1 billion each in peak annual sales.
Russell Plumb, chief executive of Inhibitex, said: “This transaction puts INX-189 and the company’s other infectious disease assets in the hands of an organisation that can more optimally develop them, and which believes as strongly as we do in INX-189’s potential in the treatment of chronic HCV.
“Bristol-Myers Squibb’s expertise in antiviral drug development, and its existing complementary portfolio, will assure that the potential of INX-189 is realised as part of future oral combination therapies for millions of patients in need around the world.”
Elliott Sigal, executive VP and president of R&D at Bristol-Myers Squibb, said: “The addition of Inhibitex’s nucleotide polymerase inhibitor to our own promising portfolio, which includes other direct-acting antivirals, brings additional options to develop all-oral regimens with better cure rates, shorter duration of therapy and lower toxicity than the current standard of care.”
Inhibitex also has other nucleotide polymerase inhibitors in pre-clinical development, and has licensed its proprietary protein platform to Pfizer for the development of a staphylococcal vaccine, which is in early stage trials.
This deal adds to BMS’ ‘string of pearls’ strategy, which seeks to establish collaborations with leading innovative companies across the globe.
Ben Adams
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