Biogen To Take Over Nightstar Therapeutics In $877M Deal
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Biogen To Take Over Nightstar Therapeutics In $877M Deal

Nightstar Therapeutics to be bought by Biogen for its pipeline of gene therapies worth $877 million. This huge takeover will provide Biogen management of clinical-phase ophthalmology resources that could get to market ahead of drugs in development in rival gene therapy shops.

After spinning out from Oxford University in 2013, Two gene therapies have advanced targeting retinal indications throughout the clinic using VC and IPO monies. In the coming months’ phase 3 trial of the lead candidate, NSR-REP1 is set to finish enrolling choroideremia patients, teeing Nightstar up to discover if it can handle the currently-untreatable type of progressive vision loss.

Biogen signaled its interest to use XLRP when it paid $124 million upfront to associate. Its interest in the area remains undiminished although the plug was pulled by the enormous biotech on the AGTC deal after a blow last year.
In Biogen Nightstar Deal, Nightstar has been offered $25.50 per share in cash to land by Biogen. That represents a 70% premium to the 30 trading day price per share but is below the highs Nightstar hit in September. The stock’s slide began around the time Nightstar held a stock offering and
posted information. The analysis found one-third of patients who received doses of NSR-REP1 experienced notable improvements, although the response rate was higher at a lower dose.

The data that was combined raised concerns about why Nightstar saw an inverse dose-response but still left it with a shot at getting the XLRP therapy at AGTC and MeiraGTx. Nightstar is positioned still in the race for the choroideremia marketplace. Spark Therapeutics is the most advanced rival but its drug remains in phase 1/2.

With an advantage and the experience, Spark can bring an eye disease gene therapy to market and will have the resources of Roche behind it once the Swiss pharma’s $4.3 billion takeover closes.

The acquisitions of Spark and Nightstar will turn the choroideremia race into a scrap between Roche and Biogen while furthering the reshaping the gene therapy sector.

Press Release By Biogen

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