Neuroscience drug developer Lundbeck is increasing its scope to epilepsy by way of the $2.6 billion acquisition of Longboard Prescription drugs, an organization whose lead asset is in late-stage medical growth for a uncommon, inherited seizure dysfunction that has few accredited therapies.
In keeping with deal phrases introduced Monday, Lundbeck pays $60 in money for every Longboard share, representing a 54.2% premium to the biotech’s closing inventory value on Friday and a 77% premium to the inventory’s common value for the month of September. When La Jolla, California-based Longboard went public in 2021, it priced shares at $16 apiece.
Longboard’s lead drug candidate, bexicaserin, is in growth for developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs), a bunch of problems that embody the uncommon epilepsies Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. The oral small molecule is an agonist of the 5-HT2C receptor, whose roles embody regulating seizure severity. This receptor is already focused by Fintepla, a UCB drug accredited to deal with seizures related to Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut. However Fintepla’s label carries a black field warning for cardiovascular problems. Bexicaserin is designed to selectively goal 5-HT2C with out additionally hitting different receptors that may trigger antagonistic results.
Jazz Prescription drugs’ cannabis-derived Epidiolex, accredited for Dravet, Lennox-Gastaut, and tuberous sclerosis complicated, has no black field warning. Some high-profile efforts in DEEs have encountered setbacks. In June, Takeda Pharmaceutical reported its drug candidate soticlestat failed separate placebo-controlled Part 3 exams in Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut.
Longboard had been making the case that bexicaserin can stand other than different approaches to deal with epilepsies. In January, the biotech reported Part 1b/2a knowledge exhibiting a median 53.3% discount in seizure frequency in sufferers with DEEs throughout the 75-day therapy interval, outcomes that had the corporate making claims of best-in-class potential. Shares of the biotech soared greater than 300% after that knowledge report.
Bexicaserin’s efficacy outcomes are holding up thus far. In keeping with a Lundbeck investor presentation, nine-month open-label knowledge present a 57.7% discount in countable motor seizures. In September, Longboard started a world Part 3 check enrolling Dravet sufferers age 2 and older. This medical trial is a part of a broader program deliberate to judge the drug in about 480 sufferers who’ve a variety of DEEs.
The Longboard pipeline additionally contains LP659, a modulator of the S1P receptor that has potential functions in neuroinflammatory problems. A Part 1 single-ascending dose examine has been accomplished however plans for a Part 1 multiple-ascending dose examine are topic to decision of a partial medical maintain. Each bexicaserin and LP659 have been licensed from Area Prescription drugs.
Lundbeck focuses on neuroscience medication. The Copenhagen-based firm’s top-selling product is Rexulti, a schizophrenia and melancholy drug that final yr expanded its accredited makes use of to incorporate agitation brought on by Alzheimer’s illness. The product accounted for 4.5 billion Danish krone (about $661 million) in income final yr, a 16% enhance in comparison with the prior yr, in line with the corporate’s annual report.
Inside neuroscience, Lundbeck executives have recognized uncommon neurological illnesses as a chance for pipeline enlargement. Lundbeck initiatives a fourth quarter 2028 launch for bexicaserin. The corporate estimates the drug might obtain peak gross sales of $1.5 billion to $2 billion.
“This transformative transaction will turn out to be a cornerstone in Lundbeck’s neuro-rare franchise, with a possible to drive development into the subsequent decade,” Lundbeck President and CEO Charl van Zyl mentioned in a ready assertion. “Bexicaserin addresses a crucial unmet want for sufferers affected by uncommon and extreme epilepsies, for which there are only a few good therapy choices obtainable.”
The boards of administrators of each Lundbeck and Longboard have accredited the acquisition, which nonetheless wants the vast majority of Longboard’s excellent voting shares to be tendered. The deal additionally should cross regulatory muster. The transaction is anticipated to shut by the top of this yr.
Picture: Getty Photos, Iaremenko
