Date: 2017-08-03
Type of information: Company acquisition
Acquired company: IFM Therapeutics (USA - MA)
Acquiring company: BMS (USA - NY)
Amount: $300 million upfront with potential of up to $1.01 billion in milestones for each of the first products from the two programs
Terms:
- • On August 3, 2017, BMS and IFM Therapeutics announced that the companies have signed a definitive agreement under which BMS will acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of IFM Therapeutics, a venture-backed biotech company focused on developing therapies that modulate novel targets in the innate immune system to treat cancer, autoimmunity and inflammatory disorders.
- Under the terms of the agreement, BMS will pay $300 million upon closing of the transaction. IFM stockholders also will be entitled to additional contingent payments of up to $1.01 billion for each of the first products from the two programs upon the achievement of certain development, regulatory and sales milestones. Also, IFM is eligible for additional contingent milestone payments for further products resulting from these programs. In connection with the acquisition, a newly formed entity will be established by the current shareholders of IFM Therapeutics and it will retain IFM’s current personnel and facilities, as well as its remaining research programs, which include an NLRP3 antagonist program focused on curbing immune responses that lead to inflammatory diseases and fibrosis. In consideration of an additional payment at closing and future investment, BMS will be granted at closing certain rights against the newly formed entity’s NLRP3 antagonist program, including a right of first refusal.
- The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and by the stockholders of IFM.
- BMS and IFM anticipate the transaction will close during the third quarter of 2017. Closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.
Details:
- IFM Therapeutics is a privately held biopharmaceutical company based in Boston, Massachusetts and financed by Atlas Venture, Abingworth, and Novartis. The company was founded in 2015 by an international group of scientists and physicians who have spent decades understanding innate immunity and the role it plays in regulating the immune system. IFM’s team has discovered and developed small molecules that modulate novel targets in the innate immune system as next-generation therapies for cancer, autoimmunity, and inflammatory disorders.
- The acquisition will give BMS full rights to IFM’s preclinical STING (stimulator of interferon genes) and NLRP3 agonist programs focused on enhancing the innate immune response for treating cancer.The STING agonist program includes a lead asset that accelerates the company’s efforts against this target, while the NLRP3 agonist program includes a potential first-in-class pipeline candidate.
Related: Cancer - Oncology - Autoimmune diseases - Inflammatory diseases
Is general: Yes
