--Must See--

Bioinformatics Summer Internship 2024 With Hands-On-Training + Project / Dissertation - 30 Days, 3 Months & 6 Months Duration

Celgene to Buy Impact Biomedicines in a Deal Worth as much as $7B

Celgene has now reached a definitive agreement to acquire Impact Biomedicines, a blood-disease biotechnology company for as much as $7 billion.

It’s interested in a kinase inhibitor called fedratinib that has shown promise as a potential treatment for blood cancer myelofibrosis.

The deal is structured in parts, with Celgene paying $1.1B in cash upfront, while the rest will be subject to certain sales and regulatory milestones. Assuming Impact hits regulatory-approval milestones, another payment of as much as $1.4 billion could be forthcoming, the companies said. Should global net sales, currently at about $1 billion, surpass $5 billion, there could be another payment of as much as $4.5 billion.

We launched Impact Biomedicines and based on our thorough review of the data, fedratinib presents a compelling risk benefit profile in both treatment-naïve patients and patients who are resistant or intolerant to other JAK2 therapies,” Impact chief executive John Hood said.

JAK2, or janus kinase 2, is a gene mutation associated with bone marrow disorders.

We believe Celgene is the ideal organization to follow through on our mission of maximizing fedratinib’s potential for patients with myelofibrosis,” Hood added.

Myelofibrosis is a disease with high unmet medical need as the number of patients who are ineligible for or become resistant to existing therapy continues to increase,

” said Celgene president Nadim Ahmed. “We believe fedratinib is uniquely positioned as a potential treatment for myelofibrosis and it provides strategic options for us to build leadership in this disease with luspatercept and other pipeline assets.

Celgene noted that in the Phase III JAKARTA-1 trial for patients with treatment-naïve myelofibrosis, fedratinib was associated with significant improvements in the primary and secondary endpoints of splenic response and total symptom score, respectively.

Further, an exploratory subgroup analysis showed that these improvements occurred regardless of a patient’s baseline platelet count. Celgene indicated that based on results from JAKARTA-1, as well as from the mid-stage JAKARTA-2 study, regulatory applications for fedratinib in myelofibrosis are anticipated starting in mid-2018.

In search of the perfect burger. Serial eater. In her spare time, practises her "Vader Voice". Passionate about dance. Real Weird.