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Sunday, December 4, 2022

Biotech M&A picking back up

 In the business of drug development, deals can be just as important as scientific breakthroughs. Many of today’s most influential medicines, from the life-saving cancer treatment Keytruda to the anti-inflammatory agent Humira, might not have become so without mergers and acquisitions.

Over the last few years, pharmaceutical M&A hit record highs as larger companies turned again and again to young biotechs for innovation. Often, these deals focused on cancer, rare diseases and immune system disorders — areas of drug research that were seeing major victories in clinical trials and huge profits for treatments that made it to market.

These deals haven’t come cheap, however. Biotech companies have had an easy time raising huge sums of money from private investors and, until recently, the public markets. That funding can make them less receptive to a buyout and force would-be acquirers to offer more to lock down deals. Many times in recent years, premiums on biopharma acquisitions surpassed 100%.

While M&A was plentiful in 2018 and 2019, and even held up during a year gripped by the coronavirus pandemic, 2021 was much quieter. In fact, the second quarter hit a five-year low in both the value and number of biopharma transactions. This year has seen a modest rebound after a slow start, and analysts believe a further resurgence is likely. Whether M&A activity continues will have a significant effect on which startups and drug programs get funded and advanced.

BioPharma Dive is tracking these deals below. The database, which shows drugmaker acquisitions that happened since 2018 and were valued at $50 million or more in upfront consideration, will be regularly updated.

Click on an acquiring company to pull up more information, and scroll to the bottom of the page to read how this information was collected and organized. If there’s anything we’ve missed, or any additional information you’d like to see, please reach out and let us know.


DATABASE
SUMMARY TABLES
ACQUIRER
COMPANY ACQUIRED
DATE OF DEAL
TOTAL CONSIDERATION
PRICE PER SHARE
PREMIUM
AstraZeneca
Neogene Therapeutics
11/29/22
$200M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Additional consideration:
Milestone payments worth as much as $120 million
Indivior
Opiant Pharmaceutical
11/14/22
$103M
$20.00
110%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Lazard
Legal advisors:
Latham & Watkins
Additional consideration:
Contingent value right worth up to $8 per share
Viatris
Oyster Point Pharmaceuticals
11/7/22
$424M
$11.00
32%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Citigroup Global Markets, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Cravath, Swaine & Moore; Cooley
Additional consideration:
Deal value includes $95 million in debt assumed by Viatris. Additional $2 per share in contingent value rights
Viatris
Famy Life Sciences
11/7/22
$281M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Sumitovant Biopharma
Myovant
10/24/22
$1,700M
$27.00
10%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
J.P. Morgan Securities, Goldman Sachs
Legal advisors:
Sullivan & Cromwell; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Additional consideration:
Deal terms equate to a total company value of $2.9 billion; Sumitovant already owned 52% of Myovant shares
AbbVie
DJS Antibodies
10/20/22
$255M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Goodwin Proctor; Cooley
Additional consideration:
DJS shareholders eligible for to receive milestone payments related to the success of its lead program
Eli Lilly
Akouous
10/18/22
$487M
$12.50
78%
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Kirkland & Ellis; Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
Additional consideration:
Contingent value right worth up to $3.00 per share
LG Chem
Aveo Oncology
10/18/22
$566M
$15.00
43%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Bank of America Securities, Moelis & Company
Legal advisors:
Latham & Watkins; WilmerHale
AstraZeneca
LogicBio Therapeutics
10/3/22
$68M
$2.07
667%
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Incyte
Villaris Therapeutics
10/3/22
$70M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Immune
Financial advisors:
PJT Partners
Legal advisors:
N/A
Additional consideration:
Milestone payments worth as much as $1.4 billion
Rocket Pharmaceuticals
Renovacor
9/20/22
$53M
$2.60
37%
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
SVB Securities, Fargo Securities
Legal advisors:
Goodwin Procter; Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders
Additional consideration:
Deal consideration paid in Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock
Roche
Good Therapeutics
9/7/22
$250M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Novo Nordisk
Forma Therapeutics
9/1/22
$1,100M
$20.00
49%
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Moelis & Company, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Davis Polk & Wardwell; Goodwin Procter
Neurocrine
Diurnal
8/30/22
GBP48M
GBP0.32
144%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Smith Square Partners, Panmure Gordon Limited
Legal advisors:
Cooley; Eversheds Sutherland
Alcon
Aerie Pharmaceuticals
8/22/22
$770M
$15.25
37%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs
Legal advisors:
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
Pfizer
Global Blood Therapeutics
8/8/22
$5,400M
$68.50
7%
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Securities, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Cravath, Swaine & Moore; Goodwin Procter
Amgen
ChemoCentryx
8/4/22
$4,000M
$52.00
116%
Therapeutic focus:
Immune
Financial advisors:
PJT Partners, Goldman Sachs
Legal advisors:
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Latham & Watkins
Additional consideration:
Enterprise value of $3.7 billion
Gilead
MiroBio
8/4/22
$405M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Immune
Financial advisors:
Cowen, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Davis Polk & Wardwell; Mayer Brown; Mishcon de Reya; Goodwin Procter, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals
GeneTx BioTherapeutics
7/18/22
$75M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Additional consideration:
Ultragenyx exercised an option to acquire GeneTx. Milestone payments worth up to $115 million
Vertex
ViaCyte
7/11/22
$320M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
N/A
Innoviva
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co.
7/11/22
$149M
$6.23
84%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Cowen & Co., Moelis & Co.
Legal advisors:
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Willkie Farr & Gallagher
AstraZeneca
TeneoTwo
7/5/22
$100M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Additional consideration:
Milestone payments worth as much as $1.165 billion
Ipsen
Epizyme
6/27/22
$247M
$1.45
53%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Barclays, Jefferies, MTS Health Partners
Legal advisors:
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; WilmerHale
Additional consideration:
Additional consideration in contingent value right worth $1/share
Gurnet Point Capital, Patient Square Capital
Radius Health
6/23/22
$890M
$10.00
12%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
J.P. Morgan Securities, Goldman Sachs
Legal advisors:
Ropes & Gray; Latham & Watkins; Kirkland & Ellis; Covington & Burling
Additional consideration:
Total deal value includes assumption of Radius Health’s debt and a contingent value right worth $1/share
invoX Pharma
F-Star Therapeutics
6/23/22
$161M
$7.12
79%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
PJT Partners, Morgan Stanley
Legal advisors:
Sherman & Sterling; Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo
Galapagos
CellPoint
6/21/22
€125M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Additional consideration:
Milestone payments worth as much as 100 million euros
Bristol Myers Squibb
Turning Point Therapeutics
6/3/22
$4,100M
$76.00
122%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Gordan Dyal & Co., Goldman Sachs
Legal advisors:
Kirkland & Ellis; Cooley
GSK
Affinivax
5/31/22
$2,100M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
N/A
Additional consideration:
Milestone payments worth as much as an additional $1.2 billion
Innoviva
Entasis Therapeutics
5/23/22
$113M
$2.20
22%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Moelis & Company, MTS Health Partners
Legal advisors:
Willkie Farr & Gallagher; Covington & Burling
Additional consideration:
Innoviva already owned 60% of Entasis common stock; equity valued at $113 million on a fully diluted basis
Pfizer
Biohaven Pharmaceuticals
5/10/22
$11,600M
$148.50
79%
Therapeutic focus:
CNS
Financial advisors:
J.P. Morgan, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Ropes & Gray; Sullivan & Cromwell
Additional consideration:
Biohaven common shareholders to receive 0.5 shares of “New Biohaven” per Biohaven share held
Opko Health
ModeX Therapeutics
5/9/22
$300M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Immune
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Additional consideration:
Upfront consideration paid in Opko common stock
Regeneron
Checkmate Pharmaceuticals
4/19/22
$250M
$10.50
335%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Watchell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Goodwin Procter
Halozyme
Antares Pharma
4/13/22
$960M
$5.60
50%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Bank of America Securities, Wells Fargo Securities, Jefferies
Legal advisors:
Weil, Gotshal & Manges; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
GlaxoSmithKline
Sierra Oncology
4/13/22
$1,900M
$55.00
39%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
PJT Partners, Lazard
Legal advisors:
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton; Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Pfizer
Reviral
4/7/22
$525M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Centerview Partners, Bank of America Securities
Legal advisors:
Clifford Chance; Goodwin Procter
Additional consideration:
Deal value of $525 million includes development milestones that may not be paid
Eagle Pharmaceuticals
Acacia Pharma
3/28/22
€95M
€0.90
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
William Blair & Company, Greenhill & Co. International, Jefferies International
Legal advisors:
Cooley; NautaDutilh; Sullivan & Cromwell; Eubelius CVBA
Additional consideration:
23 million euros of upfront consideration paid in Eagle Pharma common stock. Eagle also guaranteed 25 million euros of Acacia Pharma debt
AbbVie
Syndesi Therapeutics
3/1/22
$130M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
CNS
Financial advisors:
Lazard
Legal advisors:
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton; Goodwin Procter; Deloitte Legal, Belgium
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $870 million
Biohaven Pharmaceutical
Channel Biosciences
2/25/22
$100M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
CNS
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Additional consideration:
$65 million of upfront consideration paid in Biohaven common stock. Conditional milestone payments worth up to $1.1 billion
Collegium
Biodelivery Sciences
2/14/22
$604M
$5.60
54%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Jefferies, Moellis & Company
Legal advisors:
Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders; Goodwin Procter
UCB
Zogenix
1/19/22
$1,900M
$26.00
66%
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Lazard, Barclays, Bank of America Securities, SVB Leerink
Legal advisors:
Covington & Burling; Latham & Watkins
Additional consideration:
Contingent value rights worth $2 per share
Novartis
Gyroscope
12/22/21
$800M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
N/A
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $700 million
Sanofi
Amunix Pharmaceuticals
12/21/21
$1,000M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Weil, Gotshal & Manges; Fenwick & West
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $225 million
CSL Ltd
Vifor Pharma
12/14/21
$11,700M
$179.25
19%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Centerview Partners, PJT Partners, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse
Legal advisors:
Homburger AG; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; Allens
Pfizer
Arena Pharmaceuticals
12/13/21
$6,700M
$100.00
100%
Therapeutic focus:
Immune
Financial advisors:
Bank of America, Centerview Partners, Guggenheim Securities, Evercore
Legal advisors:
Ropes & Gray; Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer; Cooley
Recordati
EUSA Pharma
12/3/21
€750M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Additional consideration:
Aquisition price of 750 million euros reflects enterprise value of EUSA Pharma
Blueprint Medicines
Lengo Therapeutics
11/29/21
$250M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Goldman Sachs, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Goodwin Procter; Cooley
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $215 million
Twist Biosciences
Abveris
11/22/21
$150M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Edgemont Partners
Legal advisors:
Nutter, McClennen & Fish
Additional consideration:
Conditional payments worth up to $50 million in cash and Twist common stock
Vifor
Sanifit
11/22/21
€205M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to 170 million euros
Novo Nordisk
Dicerna
11/18/21
$3,300M
$38.25
80%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Evercore, Centerview Partners, SVB Leerink
Legal advisors:
Davis Polk & Wardwell; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Goodwin Procter
Organon
Forendo Pharma
11/11/21
$75M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Additional consideration:
Debt and conditional milestone payments worth up to $879 million
Supernus Pharmaceuticals
Adamas Pharmaceuticals
10/11/21
$400M
$8.10
76%
Therapeutic focus:
CNS
Financial advisors:
Jefferies, Lazard
Legal advisors:
Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr; Cooley
Additional consideration:
Contingent value rights worth $1 per share
Pacira Biosciences
Flexion Therapeutics
10/11/21
$425M
$8.50
47%
Therapeutic focus:
CNS
Financial advisors:
J.P. Morgan, Lazard, Goldman Sachs
Legal advisors:
Cooley; Perkins Cole
Additional consideration:
Contingent value right worth $8 per share
Merck & Co.
Acceleron
9/30/21
$11,500M
$180.00
3%
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Centerview Partners, J.P. Morgan Securities
Legal advisors:
Covington & Burling; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Ropes & Gray
AstraZeneca
Caelum Biosciences
9/29/21
$150M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $350 million
Hikma Pharmaceuticals
Custopharm
9/27/21
$375M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth $50 million
Grifols
Biotest
9/17/21
€1,086M
€43.00
23%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Nomura Securities International, UBS Europe
Legal advisors:
Osborne Clarke Spain Germany and UK; Proskauer Rose
Additional consideration:
Grifols to acquire Tiancheng Pharmaceutical Holdings’ stake in Biotest, representing 90% of Biotest ordinary shares and 1% of preferred shares.
Sanofi
Kadmon Holdings
9/8/21
$1,900M
$9.50
79%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Cantor Fitzgerald, Moelis & Company, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Weil, Gotshal & Manges; DLA Piper
Pfizer
Trillium Therapeutics
8/23/21
$2,260M
$18.50
204%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Bank of America, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Ropes & Gray; Norton Rose Fulbright Canada; Goodwin Procter; Baker McKenzie
Bayer
Vividion Therapeutics
8/5/21
$1,500M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Credit Suisse, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Baker McKenzie; Cooley
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $500 million
Sanofi
Translate Bio
8/3/21
$3,200M
$38.00
30%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Morgan Stanley, Centerview Partners, Evercore, MTS Health Partners
Legal advisors:
Weil, Gotshal & Manges; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Amgen
TeneoBio
7/27/21
$900M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Goldman Sachs
Legal advisors:
Latham & Watkins; Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $1.6 billion
UniQure
Corlieve Therapeutics
6/22/21
€46M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
CNS
Financial advisors:
SVB Leerink
Legal advisors:
Morgan Lewis; McDermott, Will & Emery
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to 204 million euros
MorphoSys
Constellation Pharma
6/2/21
$1,700M
$34.00
68%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Goldman Sachs, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Xeris Pharmaceuticals
Strongbridge BioPharma
5/24/21
$267M
$2.72
13%
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
SVB Leerink, MTS Health Partners
Legal advisors:
Goodwin Proctor; A&L Goodbody; Skadden, Arthur & Cox
Additional consideration:
Contingent value right worth $1.00 per share
Relay Therapeutics
ZebiAI
4/16/21
$85M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $85 million
Sanofi
Tidal Therapeutics
4/9/21
$160M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $310 million
Amgen
Rodeo Therapeutics
3/30/21
$55M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Immune
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
Cooley, Gundersen Dettmer
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $666 million
Amgen
Five Prime Therapeutics
3/4/21
$1,900M
$38.00
79%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Goldman Sachs, Lazard
Legal advisors:
Sullivan & Cromwell; Cooley
Merck & Co.
Pandion Therapeutics
2/25/21
$1,850M
$60.00
134%
Therapeutic focus:
Immune
Financial advisors:
Credit Suisse, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Covington & Burling; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Beam Therapeutics
Guide Therapeutics
2/23/21
$120M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Additional consideration:
Conditional “technology and product success” milestones worth up to $320 million
Jazz Pharmaceuticals
GW Pharma
2/3/21
$7,200M
$220.00
50%
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Evercore, Guggenheim Securities, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Watchell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Macfarlanes; Arthur Cox; Cravath, Swaine & Moore; Slaughter and May
Horizon Pharmaceuticals
Viela Bio
2/1/21
$3,050M
$53.00
53%
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs
Legal advisors:
Cooley; Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo
Sanofi
Kymab
1/11/21
$1,100M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Immune
Financial advisors:
J.P. Morgan
Legal advisors:
Weil, Gotshal & Manges; Goodwin Proctor
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $350 million
Chimerix
Oncoceutics
1/8/21
$78M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Evercore
Legal advisors:
Cooley; Morgan Lewis
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $360 million
Angelini Pharma
Arvelle Therapeutics
1/4/21
$610M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
CNS
Financial advisors:
Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Sidley Austin; NautaDutih; White & Case
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $350 milion
Novartis
Cadent Therapeutics
12/17/20
$210M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
CNS
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $560 million
Eli Lilly
Prevail Therapeutics
12/15/20
$880M
$22.50
80%
Therapeutic focus:
CNS
Financial advisors:
Lazard, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Weil, Gotshal & Manges; Ropes & Gray; Cooley
Additional consideration:
Contingent value right worth $4.00 per share
AstraZeneca
Alexion Pharmaceuticals
12/12/20
$39,000M
$175.00
45%
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Evercore, Centerview Partners, Ondra, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America
Legal advisors:
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Gilead
Myr Pharmaceuticals
12/10/20
$1,200M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Infectious
Financial advisors:
Goldman Sachs, UBS
Legal advisors:
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Mayer Brown; Flick Gocke Schaumburg; Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $360 million
Sumitomo Dainippon
Urovant
11/13/20
$584M
$16.25
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Citi, Lazard
Legal advisors:
O’Melveny & Myers; Jones Day
Merck & Co.
VelosBio
11/5/20
$2,750M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
J.P. Morgan, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Cooley
Sanofi
Kiadis Pharma
11/2/20
€308M
€5.45
272%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
PJT Partners, Moelis & Co.
Legal advisors:
NautaDutih, Allen and Overy
Bayer
Asklepios Biopharmaceuticals
10/26/20
$2,000M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Credit Suisse, J.P. Morgan
Legal advisors:
Baker McKenzie; Ropes & Gray
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $2 billion
Retrophin
Oprhan Technologies
10/22/20
$90M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Barclays, Cantor Fitzgerald
Legal advisors:
Cooley; Hogan Lovells
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $427 million
Endo International
Biospecifics
10/19/20
$540M
$88.50
45%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
PJT Partners
Legal advisors:
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Bristol Myers Squibb
Myokardia
10/5/20
$13,100M
$225.00
61%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Gordon Dyal, Centerview Partners, Guggenheim Securities
Legal advisors:
Kirkland & Ellis; Goodwin Procter
Covis Group
AMAG Pharma
10/1/20
$647M
$13.75
46%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Goldman Sachs
Legal advisors:
Goodwin Procter; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison
Roche
Inflazome
9/21/20
€380M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Immune
Financial advisors:
Lazard
Legal advisors:
Goodwin Procter; Byrne Wallace
Additional consideration:
Unspecified conditional milestone payments
Gilead
Immunomedics
9/13/20
$21,000M
$88.00
108%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Lazard, Morgan Stanley, Centerview Partners, Bank of America, Cowen
Legal advisors:
Davis Polk & Wardwell; Watchell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Nestle
Aimmune Therapeutics
8/31/20
$2,160M
$34.50
174%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
J.P. Morgan, Lazard
Legal advisors:
Latham & Watkins
Ionis Pharmaceuticals
Akcea Therapeutics
8/31/20
$500M
$18.15
60%
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Goldman Sachs, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Cowen
Legal advisors:
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Ropes & Gray
Acadia Pharmaceuticals
CerSci Therapeutics
8/25/20
$53M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Bank of America, Evercore
Legal advisors:
Paul Hastings; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $887 million
Johnson & Johnson
Momenta Pharmaceuticals
8/19/20
$6,500M
$52.50
70%
Therapeutic focus:
Immune
Financial advisors:
Goldman Sachs, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Latham & Watkins; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Sanofi
Principia Biopharma
8/17/20
$3,680M
$100.00
10%
Therapeutic focus:
Immune
Financial advisors:
Evercore, Centerview Partners, Bank of America
Legal advisors:
Weil, Gotshal & Manges; Cooley
Bayer
KaNDy Therapeutics
8/11/20
$425M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs
Legal advisors:
Linklaters; Goodwin Procter
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $450 million
Ligand Pharmaceuticals
Pfenex
8/10/20
$438M
$12.00
57%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
William Blair, Barclays
Legal advisors:
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati; Latham & Watkins
Additional consideration:
Contingent value right worth $2.00 per share
Novo Nordisk
Corvidia Therapeutics
6/11/20
$725M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Immune
Financial advisors:
J.P. Morgan
Legal advisors:
Davis Polk & Wardwell; Goodwin Procter
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $1.375 billion
UCB
Engage Therapeutics
6/5/20
$125M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Lazard, BMO Capital Markets
Legal advisors:
Covington & Burling; Morgan, Lewis & Brockius
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $145 million
Alexion Pharmaceuticals
Portola Pharmaceuticals
5/5/20
$1,440M
$18.00
132%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
RBC Capital Markets, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Cooley
Menarini Group
Stemline Therapeutics
5/4/20
$677M
$11.50
163%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Goldman, PJT Partners, Bank of America
Legal advisors:
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Alston & Bird
Additional consideration:
Contingent value right worth $1.00 per share
Gilead
Forty Seven
3/2/20
$4,900M
$95.50
81%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Citi, J.P. Morgan, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Cooley
BioNTech
Neon Therapeutics
1/16/20
$67M
$2.18
77%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Ondra Partners
Legal advisors:
Covington & Burling; Goodwin Procter
Eli Lilly
Dermira
1/10/20
$1,100M
$18.75
2%
Therapeutic focus:
Immune
Financial advisors:
Evercore, Citi, SVB Leerink
Legal advisors:
Weil, Gotshal & Manges; Fenwick & West
Sanofi
Synthorx
12/9/19
$2,500M
$68.00
172%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Morgan Stanley, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Weill, Gotshal & Manges; Cooley
Merck & Co.
ArQule
12/9/19
$2,700M
$20.00
107%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Bank of America, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Covington & Burling; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Astellas Pharma
Audentes Therapeutics
12/2/19
$3,000M
$60.00
110%
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Morgan Stanley, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Covington & Burling; Fenwick & West
Novartis
The Medicines Co.
11/24/19
$9,700M
$85.00
24%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan
Legal advisors:
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Alkermes
Rodin Therapeutics
11/18/19
$100M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
CNS
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
WilmerHale; Goodwin Procter
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $850 million
Roche
Promedior
11/15/19
$390M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
Goodwin
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $1 billion
Alexion Pharmaceuticals
Achillion Pharmaceuticals
10/16/19
$930M
$6.30
73%
Therapeutic focus:
Immune
Financial advisors:
Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Additional consideration:
Contingent value right worth $2.00 per share
UCB
Ra Pharma
10/10/19
$2,100M
$48.00
111%
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Bank of America, Lazard, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Covington & Burling; Latham & Watkins
Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (Sobi)
Dova Pharmaceuticals
9/30/19
$868M
$27.50
36%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Morgan Stanley
Legal advisors:
Cravath, Swaine & Moore; Mannheimer Swartling Advokatbyrå
Additional consideration:
Contingent value right worth $1.50 per share
Lundbeck
Alder Biopharmaceutical
9/16/19
$2,000M
$18.00
79%
Therapeutic focus:
CNS
Financial advisors:
MTS Health Partners, PJT Partners, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Baker McKenzie; Cooley
Additional consideration:
Contingent value right worth $2.00 per share
Vertex
Semma Therapeutics
9/3/19
$950M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Amgen
Otezla
8/26/19
$13,400M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Immune
Financial advisors:
Dyal, Goldman Sachs
Legal advisors:
Sullivan & Cromwell
Zogenix
Modis Therapeutics
8/26/19
$250M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
SVB Leerink
Legal advisors:
Lantham & Watkins; Fenwick & West
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone paymnets worth up to $150 million
Bayer
Bluerock Therapeutics
8/8/19
$240M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
CNS
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
Orrick
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $360 million
AbbVie
Allergan
6/25/19
$63,000M
$120.30
45%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Morgan Stanley, PJT Partners, J.P. Morgan
Legal advisors:
Kirkland & Ellis; McCann FitzGerald; Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Arthur Cox
Pfizer
Array Biopharma
6/17/19
$11,400M
$48.00
62%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Guggenheim Securities, Morgan Stanley, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Vertex
Exonics
6/6/19
$245M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
CNS
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth approximately $755 million
Merck & Co.
Peloton Therapeutics
5/21/19
$1,050M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Credit Suisse, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Covington & Burling; Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $1.15 billion
Pfizer
Therachon Holding
5/8/19
$340M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Goldman Sachs
Legal advisors:
Cooley; Homburger; Arnold & Porter; Lenz & Staehelin
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $470 million
Novartis
Xiidra
5/8/19
$3,400M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Evercore
Legal advisors:
Davis, Polk & Wardwell
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $1.9 billion
Lundbeck
Abide Therapeutics
5/6/19
$250M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
CNS
Financial advisors:
Credit Suisse, Bank of America
Legal advisors:
Baker McKenzie; Goodwin Proctor
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments of worth to $150 million
Novartis
IFM Tre
4/1/19
$310M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Immune
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
Hogan Lovells
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments of worth to $1.265 billion
Biogen
Nightstar Therapeutics
3/4/19
$800M
$25.50
68%
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Goldman Sachs, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Ropes & Gray; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Sarepta Therapeutics
Myonexus Therapeutics
2/27/19
$165M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
CNS
Financial advisors:
William Blair
Legal advisors:
Thompson Hine; Fenwick & West
Roche
Spark Therapeutics
2/25/19
$4,800M
$114.50
122%
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Citi, Centerview Partners, Cowen
Legal advisors:
Davis Polk & Wardwell; Goodwin Proctor
Ipsen
Clementia Pharmaceuticals
2/25/19
$1,040M
$25.00
67%
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Centerview Partners, Morgan Stanley
Legal advisors:
Goodwin Proctor; Davies, Ward, Phillips & Vineberg; Davies; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Stikeman Elliott
Additional consideration:
Contingent value right worth $6.00 per share
Merck & Co.
Immune Design
2/21/19
$300M
$5.85
312%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Credit Suisse, Lazard
Legal advisors:
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Cooley
Eli Lilly
Loxo Oncology
1/7/19
$8,000M
$235.00
68%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Deustche Bank, Goldman Sachs
Legal advisors:
Weil, Gotshal & Manges; Fenwick & West
Bristol Myers Squibb
Celgene
1/3/19
$74,000M
$102.43
54%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Morgan Stanley, Citi, Evercore, Dyal, J.P. Morgan
Legal advisors:
Kirkland & Ellis; Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Additional consideration:
Contingent value right worth $9.00 per share (terminated)
GlaxoSmithKline
Tesaro
12/3/18
$5,100M
$75.00
62%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
PJT Parners, Bank of America, Citi, Centerview Partners
Legal advisors:
Shearman & Sterling; Slaughter and May; Hogan Lovells; Ropes & Gray
Roche
Jecure Therapeutics
11/27/18
CHF150M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Novartis
Endocyte
10/18/18
$2,100M
$24.00
54%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Centerview Partners, Jefferies
Legal advisors:
Faegre Baker Daniels
Roche
Tusk Therapeutics
9/27/18
€70M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to 585 million euros
Alexion Pharmaceuticals
Syntimmune
9/26/18
$400M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Immune
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
Foley Hoag; Goodwin Proctor; Sullivan & Cromwell
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $800 million
Amicus Therapeutics
Celenex
9/20/18
$100M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
RBC
Legal advisors:
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Fenwick & West
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $352 million
Boehringer Ingelheim
ViraTherapeutics
9/13/18
$210M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
Gleiss Lutz
Additional consideration:
The total transaction value is based on an option and share purchase agreement signed in August 2016
Emergent Biosolutions
Adapt Pharma
8/28/18
$635M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Morgan Stanley, Bank of America
Legal advisors:
Covington & Burling; Mayer Brown
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payments worth up to $100 million
Sangamo Therapeutics
TxCell
7/23/18
$80M
$2.99
177%
Therapeutic focus:
Immune
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Otsuka
Visterra
7/11/18
$430M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
Akebia Therapeutics
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals
6/28/18
$528M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
MTS Health, Evercore, J.P. Morgan Perella Weinberg Partners
Legal advisors:
Lantham & Watkins; Goodwin Proctor
Eli Lilly
AurKa Pharma
5/14/18
$110M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Baird
Legal advisors:
N/A
Eli Lilly
Armo Biosciences
5/10/18
$1,600M
$50.00
68%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Credit Suisse, Centerview Partners, Jefferies
Legal advisors:
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Gunderson Dettmer
Takeda
Shire
5/7/18
$62,000M
$30.33
27%
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Evercore, JP Morgan, Nomura, Goldman Sachs, Citi, Morgan Stanley
Legal advisors:
Linklaters; Nishimura & Asahi; Ogier; Slaughter and May; Davis, Polk & Wardwell; Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu; Mourant Ozannes
Johnson & Johnson
BeneVir Biopharm
5/2/18
$140M
N/A
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
N/A
Legal advisors:
N/A
United Therapeutics
SteadyMed
4/30/18
$141M
$4.46
68%
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Wedbush PacGrow
Legal advisors:
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Herzog, Fox & Neeman; Cooley; Yigal Arnon & Co.
Additional consideration:
Conditional milestone payment worth $2.63 per share, or a total of $75 million
Alexion Pharmaceuticals
Wilson Therapeutics
4/11/18
$855M
$28.00
N/A
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, DNB Markets, Lazard
Legal advisors:
Advokatfirman Cederquist; Ropes & Gray; Vinge
Novartis
AveXis
4/9/18
$8,700M
$218.00
88%
Therapeutic focus:
CNS
Financial advisors:
Goldman Sachs, Centerview Partners, Dyal
Legal advisors:
Cravath, Swaine and Moore; Cooley
Merck & Co.
Viralytics
2/21/18
$394M
$1.37
185%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Credit Suisse, Lazard
Legal advisors:
Baker & McKenzie; McCullough Robertson
SeaGen
Cascadian Therapeutics
1/31/18
$614M
$10.00
69%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
Leerink Partners, Barclays, J.P. Morgan Perella Weinberg Partners
Legal advisors:
Sullivan & Cromwell; Reed Smith; Goodwin Procter
Sanofi
Ablynx
1/29/18
$4,800M
$56.00
21%
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Lazard, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley
Legal advisors:
Weil, Gotshal & Manges; NautaDutilh; Eubelius CVBA; Goodwin Procter; Linklaters
Sanofi
Bioverativ
1/22/18
$11,600M
$105.00
64%
Therapeutic focus:
Rare
Financial advisors:
Lazard, Guggenheim Securities, J.P. Morgan
Legal advisors:
Weil, Gotshal & Manges; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Celgene
Juno Therapeutics
1/22/18
$9,000M
$87.00
29%
Therapeutic focus:
Cancer
Financial advisors:
J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley
Legal advisors:
Proskauer Rose; Hogan Lovells; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom
Takeda
TiGenix
1/4/18
€520M
€1.78
82%
Therapeutic focus:
Other
Financial advisors:
Centerview Partners, Cowen & Co.
Legal advisors:
Osborne Clarke CVBA; Davis, Polk & Wardwell; DLA Piper
*Premiums are calculated from the closing price of the acquired company’s shares on the previous trading day.

More on Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain interface chip set for human trials

 Clinical trials of a wireless brain chip developed by Elon Muck’s Neuralink company will be tested in human volunteers within the next six months – and Musk himself says he intends to have one implanted for a future demo event.

Neuralink has been promising that the technology will be ready for clinical trials soon for some time – first saying they were around the corner back in 2019 – so the latest announcement by Musk at an update last week may be met with some scepticism.

Among the potential applications of the technology is restoration of vision in people who are blind – even if they have been since birth – and to restore body functions in cases of where the spinal cord is damaged, said Musk at the recruitment event.

“We’re confident that there are no physical limitations to restore full body functionality…to someone who has a severed spinal cord,” he added.

The “ultra-high bandwidth” brain computer interface (BCI) technology relies on the use of micron-scale threads that are inserted into areas of the brain that control movement, with each thread containing multiple electrodes that can detect neural signals.

The threads are so fine that they have to be implanted using a surgical robot, according to the Neuralink website. Along with use of the technology to solve healthcare challenges, the company intends to develop it for mundane tasks, such as controlling a computer keyboard or mouse directly using the brain.

“Obviously, we want to be extremely careful and certain that it will work well before putting a device in a human, but we’ve submitted, I think, most of our paperwork to the FDA,” he said, according to video from the event posted in Musk’s Twitter platform.

The device has been tested in animals so far, and last year Neuralink unveiled a pig called Gertrude which had a chip implanted that allowed neural activity in her snout to be transmitted and recorded as she rooted for food.

Chips have also been implanted into monkeys, allowing them to play the simple computer game Pong or interact with an on-screen keyboard using its brain.

Musk also defended Neuralink’s record on animal welfare during the event, which has come under scrutiny from groups including the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine, which is calling for the company to release data from experiments on monkeys, including side effects from the procedure such as infections.

CTAD 2022 – Lexeo takes baby steps towards an Alzheimer’s gene therapy

 While Eisai’s lecanemab stole the headlines at this year’s CTAD meeting there were also early data on an intriguing gene therapy being developed by the private group Lexeo.

The company is not targeting amyloid, as such, but rather a genetic risk factor for the disease, namely ApoE4. Lexeo only presented safety and biomarker results from a handful of patients, so it is impossible to gauge its chances; even if the group prevails, eventual uptake of its therapy would depend on the availability of ApoE4 testing.

Still, given that this is the first Alzheimer’s gene therapy to reach the clinic, its progress will no doubt be watched with interest.

And ApoE4 testing is something that Lexeo’s chief executive, Nolan Townsend, believes will become more widespread if and when more anti-amyloid antibodies make it to market. ApoE4 carriers have been shown to have a higher risk than non-carriers of the troubling Aria-E side effect, with the highest incidence seen in those with two copies of this allele. It has also been hypothesised that ApoE4 carriers might derive more benefit from anti-amyloid antibodies than non-carriers, but the recent lecanemab data did not support this.

Mr Townsend notes that ApoE4 testing is already available, for example from the genomics company 23andme, and says: “Our expectation is that understanding a patient’s genetic profile will be part of treating them with an antibody.”

But he adds: “If we don't see that developing, we'll have to create our own plans.”

ApoE2 for ApoE4

There are three major alleles of the ApoE gene: ApoE2, ApoE3 and ApoE4. ApoE3 is the most common; relative to this genotype, the rare ApoE2 allele is associated with a decreased risk, while ApoE4 is linked with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s. The ApoE4 allele is seen in around 14% of the general population, and in roughly 40% of Alzheimer’s patients.

However, “if you're an E2/E4 heterozygote, the existence of E2 removes most of the E4 risk”, Mr Townsend notes.

Lexeo’s contender, LX1001, does not hit ApoE4 directly, but instead is designed to increase levels of the ApoE2 protein, essentially to cancel out the deleterious effects of ApoE4. 

The chief exec concedes that the exact mechanism by which ApoE4 increases the risk of Alzheimer’s is “hotly debated”, but it is thought to involve cholesterol dysregulation, which in turn could lead to features of Alzheimer’s like amyloid plaques and tau tangles. Mr Townsend believes that, by going upstream and hitting more than just amyloid deposition, LX1001 could be more effective than the anti-amyloid antibodies.

Lexeo is a long way off proving this. Its CTAD presentation on Friday involved five patients in a phase 1 study – all ApoE4 homozygotes – receiving the lowest dose of LX1001, 5x1010gc/ml. Among the three patients with 12 months’ follow-up, there were decreases in cerebrospinal fluid total tau and phosphorylated tau. Two of three patients saw reductions in CSF amyloid-beta 42 levels, while the other had stable levels.

Going higher

The company is dosing higher: it has completed enrolment in a cohort evaluating 1.6x1011gc/ml, and has started enrolling into an arm testing 5x1011gc/ml. Mid-dose data are set for next year, with high-dose results due in 2024.

There will be some clinical outcomes data from this trial, but Mr Townsend stresses: “The study is not powered to show an effect on cognitive decline.”

As for future plans, if all goes well he says the next trial should look “more like a typical phase 2 Alzheimer's study than a typical rare disease gene therapy trial”.

Gene therapies have so far been notoriously pricey, so how does Lexeo square this with targeting a relatively common disease like Alzheimer’s? “We've done a lot of work on the manufacturing side to develop a process that we believe can produce vector at a cost of goods that's similar to biologics,” Mr Townsend replies.

These are questions for the future. First, Lexeo has to prove LX1001's worth in the clinic. 

https://www.evaluate.com/vantage/articles/events/conferences-trial-results/ctad-2022-lexeo-takes-baby-steps-towards

Reversal Of Long-Standing Policy Keeps Key Documents On Hunter Biden’s Business From Congress

 by Mark Tapscott via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Congressional investigators are being denied access to 148 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) filed with the Department of the Treasury by banks concerning financial dealings of President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, and brother, Jim, according to incoming House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

“Most Americans have never heard the term ‘Suspicious Activity Reports.’ These are actual reports that financial institutions file with the Treasury Department when they see suspicious activity,” Jordan told Epoch TV’s Joshua Phillip in an interview for the “Newsmakers” program.

Typically, it’s money laundering type of activity, so most Americans don’t get these. Or if they do, there is a good reason for it. But there are 150 of them on Hunter Biden and Jim Biden, the President’s brother, and that to me is a big concern,” Jordan said.

Only two of the 150 have been made public and the Biden administration through the Department of the Treasury is refusing to make the other 148 SARs available to congressional investigators, Jordan explained.

“It used to be before the Biden administration, if the committee wanted to see that information, whether it was Democrats on the committee or Republicans on the committee, they could have access to it … until the Biden administration,” Jordan told Phillip.

So the Biden administration hasn’t complied with any of the correspondence, any of the letters and requests that came from [incoming House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.)]. They have changed the policy on SARs for the ability of committees to review that information,” Jordan continued.

So we’ll see if we get access. Maybe we’re going to have to go to the banks to get that information, and not through the Treasury Department,” he said.

A Treasury Department spokesman did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for an explanation of the Biden administration’s 2021 decision to end a long-standing process whereby SARs and other reports provided under the Bank Secrecy Act whenever requested by a congressional committee with appropriate jurisdiction.

Following the administration’s decision, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) introduced, and the House subsequently approved, H.R. 7734, the “Timely Delivery of Bank Secrecy Act Reports Act.”  The Waters bill was approved by the House July 26, 2022, on a 349-to-70 vote, with majorities of both parties supporting the measure.

The Waters measure would require the Treasury Department to provide copies of SARs to requesting congressional officials within 30 days and requires financial institutions to turn over requested copies upon receipt of a congressional subpoena.

The Waters bill was introduced in the Senate and referred to the Senate Banking Committee, chaired by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), but no action has been taken on the bill since being referred to the Ohio Democrat’s panel.

Biden administration officials have offered several cumbersome alternative processes that would only allow congressional aides to go to reading rooms at the Treasury Department to view SARs, but they would not be allowed to make copies of the documents.

The bill report on the Waters measure explained why House officials rejected the Biden administration’s suggested alternatives.

Unfortunately, Treasury and [Financial Crimes Enforcement Network] FinCEN have recently severely restricted congressional access to Suspicious Activity Reports by requiring congressional staff to review all material in a reading room at Treasury, prohibiting the copying of materials for purposes of highlighting, ongoing reference, or margin notation, and restricting information collection to note taking.

“As an alternative, Treasury and FinCEN have offered to bring the material to the requesting committee and then take the material back to Treasury when the review is completed.

“The restrictions that they have imposed upon congressional access to SARs and related materials are unworkable given the complexity and amount of information contained in such materials, and severely impairs Congress’ responsibility to carry on its oversight work in a timely and effective fashion.”

Despite the overwhelming House vote for the Waters measure that would have effectively restored congressional access on a par with what it was prior to President Joe Biden taking office, the Treasury Department continues to withhold access to SARs, except as decided on a case-by-case basis.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/reversal-long-standing-policy-keeps-key-documents-hunter-bidens-business-congress

China Politburo smoke signals

 If U.S. financial conditions continue to ease and implied market volatility remains well-anchored, bulls will stay on the front foot. On the Asian policy front, further evidence that the burst of 'jumbo' hikes is over will also support risk appetite.

The fiscal policy focus this week will be on China, with the Communist Party's Politburo meeting early this month to lay out the government's strategy and guidelines for the year ahead.

The challenges to revitalize the economy, boost growth, shore up the property sector, and navigate a smooth transition out of the zero-COVID policy are immense, well-known, and come against a backdrop of unprecedented protests and social unrest.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs expect policymakers to reiterate a 'supportive' stance in light of weak economic activity recently.

"We might get more hints on the future direction of COVID control policies from this meeting - for example, should policymakers claim victory in the past COVID control and delete the not mentioning of 'dynamic Zero COVID' policy, we would view these as clear signs of more relaxation of COVID control in the near future," they wrote in a note on Friday.

https://news.yahoo.com/marketmind-china-politburo-smoke-signals-214804655.html