GSK has agreed to buy US biopharmaceutical business IDRx in a deal worth up to $1.15billion (£1billion). Under the agreement, GSK will pay $1billion upfront to acquire the Massachusetts-based firm, followed by up to $150million in 'success-based' milestone payments.
IDRx is developing a treatment for gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST), a rare cancer that develops in the digestive system and is diagnosed in 80,000 to 120,000 new patients every year. Current treatments for GIST are ineffective, with 90 per cent of patients developing new mutations that typically cause a relapse.
However, GSK noted that IDRx's experimental therapy - IDRX-42 - was showing signs of preventing tumours from growing. The US Food and Drug Administration recently gave IDRX-42 fast-track designation for treating patients with GIST who had shown resistance to other drugs like Imatinib.
Takeover: GSK has agreed to buy American biopharmaceutical business IDRx. Tim Clackson, chief executive of IDRx, noted there had been 'no major advances to the standard of care for almost 20 years'. He added: 'Combining our experience to date with GSK's expertise in GI cancers, global clinical development capability, and strong commercial presence in oncology will help to accelerate the development of this novel medicine for patients.'.
Funded by serial biotech entrepreneurs Christoph Lengauer and Ben Auspitz, IDRx was valued at $430million at a funding round in August. The company has received financial backing from private equity giant Blackstone, as well as venture capital firms RA Capital and Andreessen Horowitz.
