Shire, Biopharmaceutical Company, to Acquire FerroKin and Its Oral Chelator
March 15, 2012 – Shire plc, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announces that it has signed an agreement to acquire FerroKin BioSciences, Inc., for an upfront payment of $100 million, payable in cash at closing, plus potential post-closing milestone payments of up to $225 million, depending upon the achievement of certain clinical development, regulatory and net sales targets.
FerroKin has been developing FBS0701, an oral chelator currently in Phase 2 studies.
Shire’s Specialty Pharmaceuticals Senior Vice President, Hematology, Ross Murdoch says:
“There remains a significant unmet need for a once-a-day, oral iron chelator in a convenient dosage form for the treatment of transfusional iron overload with a better safety profile than currently available treatments. We believe FBS0701 has the potential to meet that need. We hope to use our expertise in hematology coupled with our proven ability to progress products through the development pipeline to bring FBS0701 to the global marketplace. This acquisition marks an important step for Shire in building a business that serves the growing needs of specialty hematologists and their patients.”
FerroKin BioSciences’ key employees, including Founder and CEO, Dr. Hugh Young Rienhoff, Jr. will provide consulting services to Shire during the transition period. “An important factor for FerroKin BioSciences in agreeing to this transaction was Shire’s drive, capability and vision to bring new products to the hematology market that promise to raise the standard of care for patients. In Shire’s hands, FBS0701 has greater potential to fulfill that promise,” said Dr. Rienhoff.
The closing of the acquisition is subject to customary conditions, including (i) adoption of the Merger Agreement by a required proportion of FerroKin’s equityholders; (ii) holders of no more than 2% of FerroKin’s capital stock having exercised or being entitled to exercise appraisal rights under Delaware law and (iii) the absence of a material adverse effect on FerroKin BioSciences.
About FBS0701
FBS0701 is a once-daily oral capsule in development for the treatment of iron overload due to chronic blood transfusions in adults and children. FBS0701 has received Orphan Product designation from both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency. FerroKin BioSciences has completed four Phase 1 clinical trials to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and iron clearing activity of FBS0701 in healthy volunteers and patients. Phase 2 dose-ranging studies in adults and children are ongoing. Initial data from the adult study, presented at the American Society of Hematology in December, supports the potential for FBS0701 as an effective iron chelator with a favorable safety profile.