Sept. 29 Quick Takes: New life for Idera via Aceragen acquisition
Plus Biohaven’s verdiperstat misses again and updates from Meliora, Sarepta and more
After months of evaluating its options in the wake of a clinical failure, Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:IDRA) has chosen to acquire North Carolina-based Aceragen Inc. in an all-stock deal. The merged public company will keep Idera’s name and advance Aceragen’s rare disease programs for cystic fibrosis, melioidosis and Farber disease; Aceragen’s shareholders will receive about two thirds of its equity. Aceragen CEO John Taylor will be CEO of the new entity; former Idera CEO Vincent Milano will be its chairman. The company will retain Idera’s CFO and CBO, while Aceragen’s COO and CMO will take those roles at the combined entity, and Aceragen’s CFO will become chief strategy officer.
Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE:BHVN) said that verdiperstat, a brain-penetrant and irreversible MPO inhibitor, missed the primary and secondary endpoints in the HEALEY ALS platform trial. Verdiperstat also failed in multiple system atrophy last year. The MPO program will be part of a set non-migraine programs spun out into a new company when Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) completes its $11.6 billion acquisition of Biohaven. The biotech announced this week that the closing date will be Oct. 3. Next up for HEALEY ALS could be a read out from gold nanocrystal suspension CNM-Au8 from the Clene Nanomedicine Inc. subsidiary of Clene Inc. (NASDAQ:CLNN). ...