Dive Brief:
- Ipsen plans to buy Memo Therapeutics to expand its rare disease pipeline, adding an experimental medicine poised to start a pivotal trial this year.
- Investors in Switzerland-based Memo will receive 200 million euros, or about $227 million, up front and will be eligible for more than 500 million euros in other payments tied to certain development, regulatory and sales goals, the companies said Wednesday. They expect the deal to close in the third quarter.
- The purchase focuses on potravitug, an antibody drug designed to combat BK polyomavirus, a pathogen that frequently affects kidney transplant patients and has no approved targeted treatment. Memo employees and assets unrelated to potravitug will become part of a newly incorporated company called Memorises Bio owned by Memo investors.
Dive Insight:
The Memo acquisition news comes just two days after Ipsen announced plans to acquire the California biotechnology company Kartos Therapeutics to gain an experimental treatment for a rare blood cancer. That transaction comes with $450 million up front and as much as $1.3 billion more in milestone payments.
With the latest deal, Ipsen is looking to expand its portfolio of therapies for rare diseases, one of its three core therapeutic areas. In 2025, rare disease medications brought in about 384 million euros for the French drugmaker, compared with 747 million euros in neuroscience and more than 2.5 billion euros in oncology.
BK polyomavirus is a common virus that most people first encounter in childhood. It generally remains inactive in the body, but it can reappear when the immune system weakens. For kidney transplant patients taking anti-rejection medicines, the virus often comes roaring back and can lead to complications, including nephropathy and an increased risk of transplant failure.
Potravitug is designed to keep the virus from infecting host cells and replicating. In a Phase 2 study of patients with BK polyomavirus associated nephropathy, the drug suppressed the virus and resolved nephropathy in a significant number of patients. There were no serious side effects reported.
Based on those results, the companies expect the drug to enter a pivotal Phase 2/3 trial later this year. Potravitug has received a fast-track designation from the Food and Drug Administration and an orphan-drug designation from the European Union.
