A large German drugmaker is paying upwards to nearly $900 million to acquire a privately held British biotech company focused on women’s health.
Leverkusen, Germany-based Bayer said Tuesday that it would pay $425 million upfront to acquire Stevenage, U.K.-based KaNDy Therapeutics, with an aim toward expanding its women’s health pipeline. The deal, which is subject to antitrust approval, is expected to close by next month.
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In addition to the upfront payment, Bayer will pay potential milestone payments of up to $450 million related to NT-814, a drug that KaNDy is developing as a treatment to alleviate symptoms of menopause. The drug, which is described as a non-hormonal neurokinin-1,3 receptor antagonist designed for once-daily oral administration, recently completed Phase IIb clinical testing and is expected to enter into a Phase III clinical trial in 2021. The drug is considered to have a potential to generate more than 1 billion euros ($1.18 billion) around the world when it reaches the peak of its sales.
In particular, NT-814 is meant to treat vasomotor symptoms, which include hot flashes and night sweats and are estimated to affect up to 75% of women, affecting their work and private life.
“Bayer has been our preferred partner due to its leading position in the area of women’s healthcare,” KaNDy Therapeutics CEO Mary Kerr said in a statement. “We believe that under the ownership of Bayer, this potential groundbreaking medicine can be optimally developed to become an important non-hormonal treatment option for women suffering debilitating symptoms of the menopause.”
Bayer noted that the KaNDy deal follows another women’s health-related agreement made earlier this year, when in January it signed a deal with Hamburg, Germany-based Evotec to expand their existing partnership to include a five-year collaboration to develop multiple drug candidates to treat polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS. PCOS is believed to potentially be responsible for 83% of cases of infertility or pregnancy complications and occur in 5-10% of women. That deal included upfront and research payments worth 16.5 million euros ($19.4 million) and milestone payments of up to 330 million euros ($388.1 million).
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