Johnson & Johnson in Talks to Acquire Protagonist Therapeutics, a Biotech Firm Valued Over $4 Billion

(Source: Europe M&A and Investment)

Johnson & Johnson in Talks to Acquire Biotech Company Valued at Over $4 Billion

According to media reports,Johnson & Johnson is in talks to acquire biotech company Protagonist TherapeuticsJohnson & Johnson's interest in Protagonist Therapeutics represents the pharmaceutical giantAnother strategic move to continuously expand its product portfolio by acquiring promising biotechnology companies with complementary therapeutic pipelines.. Although the specific details of the negotiations have not been disclosed, the report pointed out that the deal is not a sure thing. Protagonist Therapeutics' latestMarket value has exceeded 4 billion US dollarsAny potential acquisition could value the company far above its current market capitalization, including the usual acquisition premium.

These two companies are jointly developing icotrokinra, an oral interleukin-23 (IL-23) inhibitor that is expected to become a key growth driver in Johnson & Johnson's Inflammation and Immunology (I&I) portfolio.Driving ForceJohnson & Johnson has submitted a U.S. approval application for psoriasis treatment based on Phase III clinical data. These data indicate that icotrokinra, as a once-daily oral treatment, demonstrates optimal efficacy in the disease; the candidate drug also outperformed Bristol-Myers Squibb's oral TYK2 inhibitor Sotyktu in a study.

Beyond psoriasis, Johnson & Johnson is also advancing a broad inflammatory and immunology strategy for the IL-23 blocker.Later this month, Johnson & Johnson plans to launch the Phase III ICONIC-UC trial for patients with ulcerative colitis, as well as the Phase IIb/III ICONIC-CD study for Crohn's disease.

As Johnson & Johnson's former blockbuster drug Stelara sees a rapid decline in profits amid biosimilar competition, icotrokinra may help boost the pharmaceutical company’s bottom line. However,Icotrokinra will not be the only asset Johnson & Johnson acquires from Protagonist. Protagonist is also collaborating with Takeda Pharmaceutical to develop rusfertide., a heparin analog in phase III testing for the treatment of polycythemia vera. Top-line results presented at this year’s American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting showed that between weeks 20 and 32, 76.9% of patients responded to rusfertide treatment compared with 32.9% on placebo.

If the acquisition is completed, this will be Johnson & Johnson's second major acquisition this year.In January this year, Johnson & Johnson agreed to acquire neurology company Intra-Cellular for $14.6 billion, gaining access to the oral medication Caplyta, used for treating schizophrenia and bipolar depression.