BY Richard Summerfield
Tokyo-based drug maker Astellas Pharma is to buy Audentes Therapeutics in a deal worth $3bn. Under the terms of the deal, Astellas will acquire Audentes through Asilomar Acquisition Corp, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Astellas US Holding, Inc. Audentes shareholders will receive $60 per share in cash, a 110 percent premium to the company’s closing price on Monday.
Astellas expects the deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals including US antitrust clearance, to close in the first quarter of 2020.
The deal for Audentes will add a fifth core area of focus for Astellas. In 2018, Astellas reorganised around four focus areas – regenerative, immuno-oncology, immunotherapy, and neuro-muscular medicine. The acquisition of Audentes will add genetic regulation, which will be built Audentes’ biotech.
“Recent scientific and technological advances in genetic medicine have advanced the potential to deliver unprecedented and sustained value to patients, and even to curing diseases with a single intervention,” said Kenji Yasukawa, president and chief executive of Astellas. “Audentes has developed a robust pipeline of promising product candidates which are complementary to our existing pipeline, including its lead program AT132 for the treatment of X-Linked Myotubular Myopathy (XLMTM). By joining together with Audentes’ talented team, we are establishing a leading position in the field of gene therapy with the goal of addressing the unmet needs of patients living with serious, rare diseases.”
“We are very pleased to enter into this merger agreement with Astellas,” said Matthew R. Patterson, chairman and chief executive of Audentes. “With its focus on innovative science and a global network of research, development and commercialisation resources, we believe that operating as part of the Astellas organisation optimally positions us to advance our pipeline programs and serve our patients.”
The deal is the second biggest acquisition ever completed by Astellas, surpassed only by its 2010 purchase of OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc for $3.8bn.
News: Japan's Astellas to buy Audentes for $3 billion in high-priced gene therapy bet