Japanese biopharma Astellas announced this week that they will acquire ophthalmology pharma company Iveric Bio for $5.9 billion.
Under the terms of the agreement, Astellas will pay $40 per share in cash for all outstanding shares of Iveric Bio for a total equity value of $5.9 billion. Iveric will provide Astellas with a foundation of ophthalmology-focused capabilities, including a diverse commercial team, an extensive network of experts in the ophthalmology field, and established relationships with medical institutions.
Through the merger, Astellas will also gain access to Iveric’s avincaptad pegol (ACP), an investigational drug under FDA review for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). ACP is a novel complement C5 protein inhibitor and works by targeting the protein to decrease the complement system that causes retinal cell degeneration. In February, the FDA accepted Iveric's New Drug Application (NDA) for ACP with priority review status and gave it a PDUFA goal date of August 19, 2023.
This year is looking like a busy one for Astellas. Just a few weeks ago, the company announced a research agreement with Veneno Technologies, a young biotech established in 2020 focusing on functional peptides (DRPs) therapeutics. In April, Astellas announced that its metastatic urothelial cancer drug had received accelerated approval from the FDA.
