Mergers and...Los m,ercados "se mueven"...selectivamente.

 

 

Merck – known as MSD outside the US and Canada – has said it will acquire Prometheus Biosciences for around $10.8bn, marking a significant boost to its immunology pipeline.

The deal will grant Merck access to the California-based biotech’s lead candidate, PRA023, being developed for ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease and other autoimmune conditions.

Prometheus announced positive results from a phase 2 study of the candidate in ulcerative colitis late last year, with 26.5% of patients in the PRA023 cohort achieving clinical remission, compared to 1.5% on placebo.

The company also reported positive results from a single-arm study evaluating the antibody in Crohn’s disease at the same time.

Commenting on the deal, Robert Davis, chairman and chief executive officer of Merck, said: “The agreement with Prometheus will accelerate our growing presence in immunology where there remains substantial unmet patient need.”

“This transaction adds diversity to our overall portfolio and is an important building block as we strengthen the sustainable innovation engine that will drive our growth well into the next decade,” he added.

Under the terms of the agreement, Merck will pay $200 per share. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023.

 

GSK has said it will acquire Bellus Health for approximately $2bn in a deal that is set to expand the British drugmaker’s specialty medicines and respiratory pipeline.

The acquisition will grant GSK access to the Canadian biotech’s experimental drug, camlipixant, currently in phase 3 development for refractory chronic cough (RCC).

Current clinical data shows that by selectively inhibiting P2X3 receptors, camlipixant may reduce cough frequency with a relatively low incidence of dysgeusia – the taste disturbance associated with other medicines that broadly target the P2X2/3 receptor.

Bellus initiated a pair of phase 3 trials evaluating camlipixant in recent months, with data from the studies expected in the second half of 2024 and 2025.

Under the terms of the agreement, GSK will pay $14.75 per share in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

Camlipixant is up against a rival RCC candidate, gefapixant, from Merck – known as MSD outside the US and Canada. The drug, which is also a P2X3 receptor antagonist, was denied US approval at the beginning of 2022, with the US Food and Drug Administration requesting additional efficacy information. Merck is expected to submit the information later this year.

Eli Lilly will sell its severe hypoglycaemia treatment, Baqsimi, to Amphastar Pharmaceuticals in a deal worth over $1bn, the two companies announced.

Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Amphastar will pay Lilly $500m at closing and an additional $125m after one year, with Lilly also eligible to receive sales-based milestone payments of up to $450m.

Baqsimi is the first and only nasally administered glucagon that can be used to treat severe hypoglycaemia – very low blood sugar – in diabetes patients aged four years and older.

Classed as a diabetic emergency, severe hypoglycaemia is a complication that can occur in diabetes patients who take insulin and certain anti-diabetic tablets.

The condition is characterised by altered mental or physical functioning, including confusion and disorientation, convulsions, loss of consciousness and coma.

Lilly launched Baqsimi in 2019 and it is currently available in 27 international markets, with worldwide sales totalling over $139m in 2022.

Amphastar, which is focused on developing, manufacturing and marketing injectable, intranasal and inhalation products, said it expects to provide ‘dedicated commercial investment’ to expand access to the treatment.

The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is expected to close in the second or third quarter of 2023.

Pharmaceutical Market Europe May 2023