AbbVie strengthens its already strong presence in immunology with the acquisition of Apogée Therapeuticsa clinical-stage biotechnology whose most advanced drug candidate could provide advantages over several currently available drugs for atopic dermatitis, including one of the pharmaceutical company’s own products.
Under terms of the deal announced Monday, AbbVie agreed to pay $135.11 in cash for each share of Apogee. This price represents a 49% premium to Apogee’s closing share price last Thursday, the last trading day before the deal was announced. When Apogee went public in 2023, the IPO price was $17 per share..
Apogee, based in Waltham, Massachusetts, develops drugs for inflammation and immunology. Its biological drugs target validated targets, but with improvements in terms of effectiveness and dosage. The biotech’s most advanced program is zumilokibart, an antibody that is about to begin phase 3 testing in atopic dermatitis, also called eczema. This medication is designed to target IL-13, a signaling protein involved in inflammation.
Apogee designed zumilokibart to have a longer half-life, allowing administration of the biologic injected subcutaneously every three to six months. This is an advantage over many biologic atopic dermatitis medications that are administered every two to four weeks. The Apogee drug offers ongoing product potential with mid-stage studies planned to evaluate it in the treatment of asthma and eosinophilic esophagitis.
Zumilokibart also has the potential to be part of combination medicines. The company is testing IL-13 inhibitor APG990, an extended half-life antibody designed to inhibit OX40L, a protein involved in immune and inflammatory responses. This drug combination, named APG279, is in phase 1 testing.
Another combination program, APG273, is developing the combination of zumilokibart with APG333, an antibody designed to block TSLP, a protein that several biopharmaceutical companies are pursuing with longer-acting antibodies. APG273 is in preclinical development for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In announcing the Apogee acquisition, AbbVie said the deal accelerates its presence in respiratory drug R&D.
“The acquisition of Apogee builds on our existing leadership, strengthening our ability to deliver innovative medicines to patients who need better options while also creating significant long-term value for shareholders,” Robert Michael, AbbVie chairman and CEO, said in a prepared statement. “Apogee’s portfolio adds highly differentiated clinical-stage assets, expanding our strong immunology portfolio into areas of high patient need, including atopic dermatitis and asthma.
Immunology is AbbVie’s largest therapeutic area. The company’s lead immunology and inflammation drug is Skyrizi, an antibody designed to block IL-23 by binding to p19, a subunit of the protein. Skyrizi is approved for the treatment of plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. AbbVie’s presence in atopic dermatitis is through Rinvoq, an oral small molecule designed to inhibit JAK proteins. But the products in the JAK inhibitor class of drugs have black box warnings on their labels due to a higher risk of cancer and cardiovascular complications.
In a research note published Monday, William Blair analyst Matt Phipps called the purchase price for Apogee “quite high” but added that zumilokibart clearly fits AbbVie’s experience in immunology and inflammation while providing the company with a way to expand into respiratory indications. Last month, Apogee enters into royalty agreement with Blackstone Life Sciences to secure non-dilutive financing for the clinical development of zumilokibart. Phipps said the timing of the acquisition allows AbbVie to accelerate Phase 3 development of Apogee’s lead drug and reduce potential future royalties owed to Blackstone.
Apogee was born in 2022, spin-off of Paragon TherapeuticsFairmount Funds’ biologic drug discovery engine. It was the first startup to spin out of Paragon and the first of these companies to go public. Paragon has since created five other companies.
The Apogee acquisition is AbbVie’s largest M&A deal since 2024, when it completed the $10.1 billion purchase of Immunogen, a specialist in cancer antibody-drug conjugates. AbbVie’s largest-ever acquisition was the $63 billion buyout of Botox maker Allergan, which is now the pharmaceutical company’s aesthetics division. The boards of directors of AbbVie and Apogee approved the deal with Apogee, which still requires regulatory and shareholder approval. The companies expect to complete the transaction in the third quarter of this year.
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