Alexion to acquire Achillion in $930M deal

Photo | Contributed Alexion Pharmaceuticals' research facility at 100 College St. in New Haven.

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By Natalie Missakian

Two pioneers of the Elm City’s bioscience industry are about to become one.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Wednesday morning it plans to acquire fellow New Haven-born drugmaker Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. in an all-cash deal valued at $930 million.

Under terms of the deal, Alexion will pay $6.30 a share, but shareholders will get “contingent value rights” worth up to an additional $2 per share if Achillion meets certain milestones. Also as part of the agreement, Alexion said it will acquire the approximately $230 million in cash currently on Achillion’s balance sheet.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2020, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.

Alexion and Achillion both target rare, immune-related diseases associated with the complement system, which is part of the immune system, but they do so in different ways. While Alexion’s drugs inhibit the complement protein C5, Achillion’s targets the immune system enzyme Factor D.

Achillion’s lead drug, danicopan, has shown promise in mid-stage clinical trials for treating anemia in patients with a rare blood disorder, paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH).

Alexion’s Soliris is currently the standard treatment for that disease, but many patients do not fully respond to therapy. Achillion has been testing its drug in combination with Soliris for patients who still suffer from anemia following treatment.

Last month, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration dubbed the drug a “breakthrough therapy,” a label given to new medicines for serious ailments that show potential for substantial improvement over existing treatments.

“Alexion has demonstrated the transformative impact that inhibiting C5 can have on multiple rare and devastating diseases. However, we believe this is just the beginning of what’s possible with complement inhibition,” Alexion CEO Ludwig Hantson said in a statement.

“We look forward to applying our nearly three decades of complement and development expertise to unlock the potential of oral Factor D inhibitors and bring these benefits to patients,” Hantsen added.

Founded in 1992 and 1998, respectively, Alexion and Achillion are two of New Haven’s oldest bioscience firms, part of a group of early Yale tech spinoffs known collectively as the “Seven Sisters.”

Both companies recently moved their headquarters out of New Haven (Alexion’s relocated to Boston, and Achillion’s to suburban Philadelphia) but both maintain a major research presence here. Last month, Alexion announced plans to invest roughly $10 million to expand its Global Product Development lab at its 100 College Street facility in New Haven.

The expansion, scheduled to be completed next year, is aimed at increasing Alexion’s capacity to advance more early drug candidates from the pre-clinical phase into human trials.

Alexion has acquired several biotech firms over the last year in an attempt to expand its pipeline of rare-disease drugs and lessen its financial dependence on Soliris. The company acquired Sweden’s Wilson Therapeutics and Boston-based Syntimmune in 2018.