Astellas Pharma, Japan’s third-largest drugmaker by sales, has announced its biggest-ever acquisition with the purchase of US-based Iveric Bio for around $5.9 billion.
The deal marks the company’s fifth major overseas acquisition since 2019, as it looks to shore up its pipeline with new treatments following the loss of patent protection for its main products.
The acquisition of Iveric is Astellas’ second-largest cross-border deal in the past five years, following Takeda Pharmaceutical’s $6 billion acquisition of Nimbus Therapeutics’ psoriasis drug unit announced in December 2021.
The move also follows Kirin Holdings’ recent announcement that it would buy Australian vitamin maker Blackmores for $1.2 billion.
Iveric, formerly branded as Ophthotech, is focused on developing treatments for retinal diseases, which fits with Astellas’ focus on blindness and regeneration therapies.
The acquisition will give Astellas drug candidates to treat some 160 million people worldwide suffering from eye ailments, particularly in its home market of Japan, which has one of the world’s fastest-aging populations.
Iveric’s key asset is avacincaptad pegol (ACP), currently in trials for treating geographic atrophy, the advanced stage of macular degeneration, a common cause of vision loss in the elderly.
ACP, which is branded as Zimura, targets the C5 protein suspected in causing the growth of scarring associated with the disease. The US Food and Drug Administration granted priority review of ACP in February, and if approved, the treatment could be commercialized by the end of this year.
Along with treatments for menopause symptoms and bladder cancer, Astellas is counting on ACP to make up for the loss of sales exclusivity of its mainstay prostate cancer drug Xtandi, Chief Executive Naoki Okamura said at a briefing. “We believe that this is going to be the third pillar,” said Okamura, who ascended to the top job last month.
The acquisition of Iveric is expected to be completed by the end of July 2023, subject to regulatory approvals.
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