Bayer acquires BlueRock Therapeutics to build leading position in cell therapy
– Implied total company value of up to USD 1 billion, inclusive of 40.8 percent stake currently held by Bayer –
– Initial focus in neurology, cardiology, and immunology with start of first clinical program in Parkinson’s disease expected later this year –
– BlueRock Therapeutics to continue to operate as an independent company –
Berlin/Cambridge – Bayer AG and BlueRock Therapeutics today announced an agreement under which Bayer will fully acquire BlueRock Therapeutics, a privately held US-headquartered biotechnology company focused on developing engineered cell therapies in the fields of neurology, cardiology and immunology, using a proprietary induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) platform.
Following a 2016 joint venture with Versant Ventures to establish BlueRock Therapeutics, Bayer will acquire the remaining stake for approximately USD 240 million in cash to be paid upfront at closing and an additional USD 360 million payable upon achievement of pre-defined development milestones. With Bayer currently holding 40.8 percent stake, the investment corresponds to a total company value of BlueRock Therapeutics of approximately USD 1 billion. The closing of the transaction is expected during the third quarter of 2019.
“This acquisition marks a major milestone on our path towards a leading position in cell therapy,” said Stefan Oelrich, Member of the Board of Management, Bayer AG and President Pharmaceuticals Division. “In line with our strategy to ramp up our investments in technologies with breakthrough innovation potential, we have decided to build our cell therapy pipeline based on BlueRock Therapeutics’ industry-leading iPSC platform. Ultimately, we are joining forces to deliver new treatment options for medical needs that are still unmet today.”
“We are extremely excited to be part of the world-class Bayer organization,” said Emile Nuwaysir, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, BlueRock Therapeutics. “We have built a premier cell therapy platform at BlueRock Therapeutics, with industry-leading R&D, process development and manufacturing capabilities. With the expertise and support of Bayer, we will be even better positioned to pursue the discovery, development and commercialization of revolutionary new cell therapies for patients suffering from diseases previously thought of as intractable.”
The convergence of cell biology and engineering has enabled an important new treatment modality for patients, with significant clinical benefit demonstrated in diseases previously deemed intractable. Especially for degenerative diseases where cell loss and low self-repair potential occur, such as cardiac muscle loss or degenerative neurological disorders, regenerative cell therapy offers unprecedented potential to have a significant benefit for patients.
BlueRock Therapeutics’ portfolio of cell therapies is currently focused on neurology, cardiology and immunology with a lead program in Parkinson’s disease expected to enter the clinic by the end of 2019. Among neurodegenerative disorders, Parkinson’s disease is the fastest growing in prevalence, disability and mortality. The primary and most debilitating symptom of Parkinson’s disease is a progressive loss of motor control. Stem cell therapy could re-innervate the human brain and reverse degenerative disease, potentially restoring motor function to more than seven million of patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease globally.
In 2016, Bayer and founding investor Versant Ventures established BlueRock Therapeutics with a USD 225 Million Series A Financing as part of the Leaps by Bayer unit. Leaps is complementary to Bayer’s divisional R&D approach and works on establishing new companies and investing in new early-stage technologies with breakthrough potential that have the potential to prevent or cure some of today’s biggest health concerns.
“This transaction is not only the foundation for an iPSC-based cell therapy portfolio, but also a manifestation of a successful innovation strategy by our Leaps unit to create biotechnological solutions that have truly transformative potential and may cure patients in life-threatening conditions one day,” said Kemal Malik, Bayer Board member for Innovation.
With this transaction, Bayer will own full rights to BlueRock Therapeutics’ CELL+GENETM platform, including a broad intellectual property portfolio and associated technology platform including proprietary iPSC technology, gene engineering and cell differentiation capabilities. In addition to its current focus, BlueRock Therapeutics’ platform brings the opportunity to extend to other therapeutic areas beyond the current development programs. To preserve the entrepreneurial culture as an essential pillar for nurturing successful innovation, BlueRock Therapeutics’ will remain an independent company operating on an arm’s-length basis.
Source: BlueRocktx PR
About BlueRock
BlueRock was founded in 2016 when Versant Ventures, a top-tier venture capital firm, and global pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG provided $225 million in Series A financing toward BlueRock’s mission to cure diseases characterized by significant cell loss and diminished ability to self-repair.
BlueRock is building an industry-leading platform that uses healthy cells to regenerate and restore the body’s native functions, with the goal of altering the course of the disease rather than just treating symptoms. Our platform is based on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which can be generated from cells in a normal blood draw from a consenting adult, and produced in large quantities using state-of-the-art cell manufacturing technologies.
BlueRock is pioneering the development of first-in-class universally compatible, allogeneic cell therapies that replace dead, damaged, or dysfunctional cells in patients with degenerative disease.
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which form the basis of our cell therapy program, can be generated in unlimited quantities. When exposed to the correct sequence of biological signals, iPCSs can be turned into any cell type in the human body. Due to these qualities, BlueRock has chosen iPSCs to produce unlimited quantities of highly specific human cells in amounts that are required for therapeutic use.
Parkinson’s Disease
Through our Parkinson’s program, we are developing dopaminergic neurons that can replace the dopamine-secreting cells that have been lost in Parkinson’s patients. We plan to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the FDA in 2018, with the goal of treating the first patient that year. Our clinical program is now recruiting patients.
Parkinson’s is a degenerative disease that affects more than 10 million patients worldwide.
Incidence increases with age, but an estimated 4 percent of people with Parkinson’s are diagnosed before age 50.
The combined direct and indirect cost of Parkinson’s is estimated at $25 billion per year in the U.S. alone.
There is no cure for Parkinson’s, only therapies that treat symptoms or seek to slow disease progression.
Cardiac Diseases
BlueRock’s cardiac program seeks to replace heart muscle in patients who have lost muscle cells after a heart attack (myocardial infarction) or are suffering from chronic heart failure; both are leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Our science shows promise for improving and restoring the electrical and contractile function of injured hearts by introducing heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) that are derived from pluripotent stem cells.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women.
About 610,000 people die of heart disease in the U.S. every year, according to the CDC. That’s one in every four deaths.
Every year, about 735,000 Americans experience a heart attack.
Coronary heart disease is the most common form of heart disease, killing over 370,000 people annually.
There is no cure for heart disease, only therapies that treat symptoms or seek to slow disease progression.
BlueRock intends to expand its pipeline to include additional indications, addressing other diseases that are rooted in cell loss and the body’s inability to self-repair.
Source: www.bluerocktx.com
