Vtesse, a US-based rare disease therapy developer backed by pharmaceutical firms Pfizer and Lundbeck, was acquired on Monday by biopharmaceutical company Sucampo Pharmaceuticals for $200m.
The transaction consisted of $170m in cash and nearly 2.8 million shares of Sucampo class A common stock.
Vtesse is developing treatments for rare, life-threatening conditions. The company, a spinout of orphan drug accelerator Cydan Development, is undertaking clinical trials for its lead candidate VTS-270, a therapy for the genetic disease Niemann-Pick Type C1.
The disease affects an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people globally and results in premature death in the majority of cases. There are no treatments currently available in the US.
Vtesse’s staff will join Sucampo to continue working on VTS-270. Sucampo will support the accelerated global development and potential commercialisation of the drug candidate, with its launch expected to take place in 2019.
The companies will also establish a foundation to support research related to Niemann-Pick Type C1, with Vtesse shareholders using a portion of the proceeds from the acquisition and Sucampo matching the sum through corporate funds.
Vtesse closed a $42m series A round in July 2016 that featured Pfizer and Lundbeck, which invested through their respective corporate venturing units, Pfizer Venture Investments and Lundbeckfond Ventures.
The corporates, along with Alexandria Venture Investments, the venture capital arm of life sciences real estate trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities, New Enterprise Associates and Bay City Capital, contributed to both the $25m original tranche in early 2015 and its final close.