Astellas Pharma to Acquire Audentes Therapeutics for $3 Billion to Expand Gene Therapy Pipeline

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media that on December 2, 2019 (local time), biotechnology company Astellas Pharma (Astellas) announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all outstanding equity of gene therapy company Audentes Therapeutics (Audentes) at a price of $60 per share, representing a total equity value of approximately $3 billion. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2020.

The boards of directors of both parties unanimously approved Astellas’ acquisition of Audentes through its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, Asilomar. Asilomar will launch a tender offer (also known as a “cash-out merger”) for all outstanding common shares of Audentes at a price of $60 per share in cash. Upon successful completion of the tender offer, Asilomar will be merged with and into Audentes, and the remaining outstanding shares of Audentes common stock will be cancelled and converted into cash consideration. The Board of Directors of Audentes has decided to recommend that its shareholders tender their shares to Asilomar.

Audentes Therapeutics, founded in 2013 and headquartered in California, USA, is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing innovative gene therapies for patients with severe rare diseases. Leveraging its AAV gene therapy platform and proprietary manufacturing technology, Audentes is advancing three modalities: gene replacement, vectorized exon skipping, and vectorized RNA knockdown. Its candidate products have demonstrated significant therapeutic potential in clinical and preclinical studies across a range of neuromuscular disorders.

Astellas President and CEO Kenkawa Yasukawa stated, “Recent technological advancements in genetic medicine can deliver unprecedented and sustained value to patients, potentially even curing diseases through a single intervention. Audentes has developed a pipeline of promising candidate products that complement our existing portfolio, including its lead program AT132 for the treatment of X-linked myotubular myopathy (XLMTM). Our collaboration with Audentes will help us establish a leading position in the gene therapy sector.”

Matthew R. Patterson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Audentes, stated, “We are pleased to have completed the merger agreement with Astellas. Astellas is dedicated to innovative science and a global network of research, development, and commercialization resources. We believe that, as part of the Astellas organization, we will be better positioned to advance our pipeline and serve our patients.”

The acquisition of Audentes represents a critical step in expanding Astellas’ key focus areas. Building on this foundation, Astellas is committed to developing innovative therapies for difficult-to-treat diseases with unmet medical needs by identifying unique combinations of biology and emerging science-based therapeutic approaches. In addition to its four existing priority investment areas, the company will establish gene regulation as its fifth core strategic pillar. Within this domain, gene therapy will serve as a key driver of the company’s future growth.

Astellas, established in 2005 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a global pharmaceutical research and development company primarily engaged in product services related to pharmaceuticals as well as real estate business.

(Compiled by: He Li)