FRANCE – Ipsen (Euronext: IPN: ADR: IPSEY), a Boulogne Billancourt, France-based biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing medicines in oncology, rare disease and neuroscience, acquired Albireo (Nasdaq: ALBO), a Boston, MA-based provider of bile-acid modulators to treat pediatric and adult cholestatic liver diseases.
The acquisition of Albireo will provide immediate incremental sales and strengthen Ipsen’s rare disease infrastructure. Albireo guided for total Bylvay revenues of $24 million for 2022. Under the terms of the agreement and plan of merger, Ipsen, through a fully-owned subsidiary, will initiate a tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Albireo at a price of $42.00 per share in cash at the closing of the transaction, for an initial estimated aggregate consideration of $952 million plus one contingent value right (CVR) per share.The acquisition will enrich Ipsen’s Rare Disease portfolio and pipeline. As part of the transaction, Ipsen will also acquire Albireo’s clinical stage asset A3907, a novel oral systemic apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter (ASBT) inhibitor currently in development for adult cholestatic liver disease, such as primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), which could complement Ipsen´s existing development programs. In addition to Bylvay and A3907, Albireo’s pipeline includes A2342, an oral systemic sodium-taurocholate co-transporting peptide (NTCP) inhibitor being evaluated for viral and cholestatic diseases, which is moving ahead in investigational new drug (IND)-enabling trials. Led by CEO Ron Cooper, Albireo is a rare disease company focused on the development of novel bile acid modulators to treat pediatric and adult liver diseases. Its lead product, Bylvay, was approved by the U.S. FDA as the first drug for the treatment of pruritus in all types of progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC), and in Europe for the treatment of PFIC. Bylvay is also being developed to treat other rare pediatric cholestatic liver diseases with a completed Phase III trial in ALGS, an ongoing Phase III study in biliary atresia, as well as Open-label Extension (OLE) studies for PFIC and ALGS. The company has also completed a Phase I clinical trial for A3907 to advance development in adult cholestatic liver disease, with IND-enabling studies progressing with A2342 for viral and cholestatic liver disease. Albireo was spun out from AstraZeneca in 2008.Led by CEO David Loew, Ipsen is a mid-sized biopharmaceutical company focused on transformative medicines in Oncology, Rare Disease and Neuroscience. With Specialty Care sales of €2.6bn in FY 2021, the company sells medicines in over 100 countries. Alongside its external-innovation strategy, its research and development efforts are focused on its innovative and differentiated technological platforms located in the heart of biotechnological and life-science hubs: Paris-Saclay, France; Oxford, U.K.; Cambridge, U.S.; Shanghai, China.09/01/2023
