Novartis To Acquire IFM Tre In $1.575 Billion Deal To Develop NLRP3
IFM Therapeutics (IFM) on 1st April 2019 announced its pact with Novartis wherein Novartis will acquire capital stock of IFM Tre, a subsidiary company of IFM which was launched in July 2018 focused on developing antagonists for treating inflammatory diseases. IFM is a private biopharmaceutical company manufacturing therapies that modulate novel targets in the innate immune system. Under this $1.575 billion deal, $310 million upfront payments will be received by IFM and will be eligible for up to $1.265 billion in milestone payments.
The acquisition will give Novartis complete rights to IFM Tre’s portfolio of NLPR3 antagonists, which consists of a single clinical and two pre-clinical applications: IFM-2427, a first-in-class, clinical stage systemic antagonist for an array of chronic inflammatory disorders including atherosclerosis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH); a pre-clinical stage gut-directed molecule for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease; and a pre-clinical phase central nervous system (CNS)-penetrant molecule.
Jay Bradner, President of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research stated that- IFM Tre’s compounds have shown they can fine-tune the immune system, offering a potentially potent approach for treating a wide assortment of diseases associated with inflammation. They look forward to applying
our deep expertise in this area to advancing these medications throughout the clinic and to patients that need them.These conditions trigger the assembly of a multi-protein complicated known as an inflammasome, which then initiates an immune response. While this response can be useful for fending off pathogens activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome is known to cause negative downstream effects and the onset and development of numerous diseases. IFM Tre’s programs target the immune system by suppressing the inflammation mediated by the pathway, leaving immune pathways unsuppressed and free to create inflammatory responses to confront pathogens.
Gary D. Glick, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of IFM Therapeutics stated that- Since founding IFM in 2015 their staff has worked tirelessly to create a portfolio of next-generation small molecule medicines that exploit the innate immune system as a new therapeutic target. Today’s announcement marks an important milestone in the development of next-generation therapies for serious inflammatory conditions. Based on and data, we believe NLRP3 inhibition represents a novel approach to preventing the inflammation which drives the onset and progression of numerous metabolic, fibrotic, autoimmune and neurological diseases. With Novartis, we have identified a partner that shares our conviction in the potential of this approach, and who has expertise bringing autoimmune and inflammatory disease therapeutics to market.
The board of directors and stockholders of IFM has approved the transaction. IFM and Novartis expect the transaction will close during the second quarter of 2019. The closure of this deal is subject to customary closing conditions.
