In Vivo's Deals Of The Month, May 2017
Executive Summary
In Vivo's editors pick May's most significant deals, including Thermo Fisher's bid for Patheon and Merck's tie-up with Teijin. (Free article.)
Top Alliance: Merck Revisits AD With Teijin
Just a few months after ending trials of its BACE inhibitor verubecestat in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease, Merck & Co. Inc. added to its AD pipeline by taking on exclusive global rights to develop, manufacture and sell Teijin Pharma Ltd.’s preclinical tau-targeting antibody. Teijin gets money up front, milestones, and royalties, and retains an option to co-promote the drug in Japan. Besides verubecestat, which Merck is still testing in prodromal AD, the big pharma’s other Alzheimer’s candidate 18F-MK6240 is a tau ligand positron emission tomography imaging agent in Phase I. [See Deal]
Top Financing: G1 Therapeutics' IPO
G1 Therapeutics Inc. netted $109 million through its IPO of 7.8 million common shares at $15. The CDK4/6 inhibitor developer's lead candidate trilaciclib is in Phase II trials to preserve hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells and enhance immune function during chemotherapy. G1 and Roche's Genentech Inc. are exploring the combination of trilaciclib with Tecentriq (atezolizumab) in SCLC patients undergoing chemotherapy. G1 also has an oral CDK4/6 inhibitor in Phase I/II trials for use in combination with other targeted therapies in patients with breast and NSCLCs, and a preclinical oral SERD for breast cancer. Prior to its IPO, G1 raised more than $96 million in venture funding from RA Capital, MedImmune Ventures, Franklin Templeton, Cormorant, Hatteras and others. [See Deal]
Top M&A: Thermo Fisher Makes Mega-Offer For Patheon
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. continues its acquisitive streak with a tender offer to acquire leading contract development manufacturer Patheon NV for $35 per share in a deal valued at $7.2 billion, including $2 billion in debt. [See Deal] It's a lucrative exit for Patheon, which was formed in 2014 and had a $571 million IPO in June 2016. The acquisition provides Thermo Fisher with an entrée into the growing CDMO market, thereby adding a services offering to its already strong pharma and biotech proposition. Patheon is now the largest provider of contract drug manufacturing services and one of the top three outsourced manufacturers of biological drug substances, the industry’s fastest growing segment.