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Jazz Pharmaceuticals announced Monday that it will acquire Actio Biosciences, Inc. for an upfront payment of $820 million and up to $500 million in contingent consideration upon the achievement of additional sales or approval milestones.
The acquisition expands Jazz’s rare epilepsy portfolio and centers on Actio Bioscience’s flagship drug ABS-1230. ABS-1230 is an oral precision therapy that has shown early promise in clinical trials to treat KCNT1 + epilepsy, a rare disease for which there is currently no FDA-approved treatment.
“The emerging clinical profile of ABS-1230 is very encouraging, and we look forward to working with our new colleagues at Actio Biosciences to complete the proposed transaction and address urgent patient needs,” Lenny Gala, president and CEO of Jazz Pharmaceuticals, said in a statement Monday.
For Dublin-based Jazz, the move will strengthen its pipeline, which already includes treatments for rare cancers and sleep disorders, in addition to its rare epilepsy portfolio. As part of the deal, Actio’s non-epilepsy-focused pipeline will be spun off into a new private company focused on rare genetic neurological diseases. Jazz will become a minority shareholder in the new company.
The companies have secured approval from both boards of directors and the transaction is expected to close by the fourth quarter of this year.
