Bristol-Myers Squibb will acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of Padlock Therapeutics Inc., a private, Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company that focuses on new medicines to treat destructive autoimmune diseases. The acquisition will give Bristol-Myers Squibb full rights to Padlock’s Protein/Peptidyl Arginine Deiminase (PAD) inhibitor discovery program focused on the development of treatment approaches for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Padlock’s PAD discovery program may have additional utility in treating systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and other autoimmune diseases.
“Targeting PAD enzymes has the potential to be one of the most innovative mechanisms for treating autoimmunity which both strengthens and accelerates our immunoscience pipeline,” said Francis Cuss, MB BChir, FRCP, executive vice president and chief scientific officer, Bristol-Myers Squibb. “By pursuing a treatment approach which may address disease progression earlier, we hope to transform the lives of patients with RA and other autoimmune diseases.”
The transaction includes upfront and near term contingent milestone payments of up to $225 million and additional contingent consideration of up to $375 million upon the achievement by Bristol-Myers Squibb of certain development and regulatory events, according to a press release. The transaction will likely close during the second quarter of 2016.
