After a year of takeover rumors that seemed to fizzle out into nothing, Relypsa (RLYP) has finally found its match in the biotech’s drug marketing partner and Swiss healthcare company Galenica, which will buy the company for $1.53 billion.
After AstraZeneca’s (AZN) $2.7 billion buyout last year of ZS Pharma and its hyperkalemia candidate ZS-9, it looked a sure thing that Relypsa would be next, given that it now has FDA approval for its hyperkalemia drug Veltassa (patiromer), a treatment which could make blockbuster sales in a market potentially worth $6 billion at peak.
But investors and analysts waited, and waited some more, but no formal suitors seem to come, with a few names like Actelion (which lost out narrowly to AstraZeneca with ZS Pharma) being bandied about, but all to no avail.
Then Relypsa got another major boost: ZS-9, which was meant to be approved in May, was knocked back by the FDA in a complete response letter over manufacturing concerns coming out of the ZS Pharma unit. ZS-9 could be delayed by a year, leaving Veltassa breathing room to grow into the market and also gain a supplemental approval downgrading its safety risks.
It looked as if Astra had backed the wrong horse, so surely now a Big Pharma player would swoop in? For two months, no one did, until Galenica stepped in with a agreeable offer for the company turning a 59% premium on its share price before the deal announcement.
It’s a neat fit because Galenica owns Vifor Pharma, Veltassa’s European marketing partner; both companies submitted the drug for EMA back in the spring.
Veltassa has been co-marketed in the U.S. with French Big Pharma Sanofi (SNY). However, Galenica/Vifor said it would now gain “full global rights” to the drug, meaning it will likely lose Sanofi as a partner.
In a statement, the company said: “The acquisition of Relypsa is expected to significantly strengthen Vifor Pharma ahead of the planned split of the Galenica Group into two independent companies in 2017.” Relypsa will be delisted and integrated into Vifor.
The deal is expected to be done by the third quarter.
Relypsa Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that develops treatments for renal, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and is focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of polymeric medicines for patients with conditions that are often overlooked and undertreated and can be addressed in the gastrointestinal tract. The company’s first medicine, Veltassa® (patiromer) for oral suspension, was developed based on Relypsa’s rich legacy in polymer science. Veltassa is approved in the United States for the treatment of hyperkalemia. Veltassa has intellectual property protection until 2030 in the United States and 2029 in the European Union.
Congrats to all Relypsa shareholders.
Drug Stock News 