Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IONS) rose in Friday trading. Biogen and Ionis have expanded their strategic collaboration to develop drug candidates for a broad range of neurological diseases.
This collaboration, according to the press release, “capitalizes on Biogen’s (NASDAQ: BIIB) expertise in neuroscience research and drug development and Ionis’ leadership in RNA targeted therapies with the goal of developing a broad pipeline of investigational therapies. It builds upon a productive collaboration that produced SPINRAZA, the first and only approved treatment for patients with spinal muscular atrophy.”
Under the terms of the collaboration, Biogen will pay Ionis $1 billion in cash, which will include $625 million to purchase 11,501,153 shares of Ionis common stock at a price of $54.34 per share, at an approximately 25% cash premium, and a $375-million upfront payment.
Biogen will have the option to license therapies arising out of this collaboration and will be responsible for their development and commercialization. In addition, Biogen may pay milestone payments, license fees and royalties on net sales.
The companies plan to advance programs for a broad range of neurological diseases for which few treatment options exist today. Disease areas include dementia, neuromuscular diseases, movement disorders, ophthalmology, diseases of the inner ear, and neuropsychiatry.
Said Ionis CEO Stanley Crooke, "There is no better partner for Ionis to develop new antisense drugs to treat neurological diseases than Biogen. Their demonstrated perseverance, dedication, and commitment to innovation in developing drugs for these challenging diseases is unmatched."
Ionis shares grew $1.60, or 3.5%, by noon ET Friday, to $47.45.
