AbbVie has announced an agreement to acquire Landos Biopharma, a company specializing in the development of oral therapeutics for autoimmune diseases.
AbbVie will purchase Virginia-based Landos for $20.42 per share in cash, amounting to approximately $137.5 million, with an additional up to $11.14 per share contingent upon achieving a clinical milestone, totaling up to approximately $212.5 million. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2024, subject to Landos' shareholders' approval and other customary closing conditions.
The deal centers on Landos' lead compound, NX-13, an oral NLRX1 agonist currently in phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. NX-13 aims to reduce inflammation and facilitate tissue repair in the gastrointestinal tract.
The deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions for AbbVie. Back in December, the drugmaker announced its intent to acquire Cerevel Therapeutics in a potential $8.7 billion bid to bolster AbbVie's presence in the neuroscience sector. Among the standout Cerevel assets is emraclidine, a positive allosteric modulator currently undergoing phase 2 trials for schizophrenia.
Last month, AbbVie finalized its acquisition of ImmunoGen, incorporating the Massachusetts-based company's leading cancer treatment, Elahere, into its offerings. The purchase of ImmunoGen was initially revealed in November. AbbVie bought all outstanding shares of ImmunoGen at $31.26 each in cash, putting ImmunoGen's value at around $10.1 billion.
Elahere, which received accelerated approval in November 2022 for treating FRα-positive ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer, marks the first FDA-approved antibody-drug conjugate for this condition. The acquisition also granted AbbVie entry to ImmunoGen's advanced pipeline of next-generation ADCs, which hold promise as treatments for a variety of solid tumors and blood cancers.
