Dive Brief:
- Merck is betting big on hepatitis C therapeutics by buying Idenix for $3.85 billion
- Idenix has three hepatitis C drugs in clinical development.
- Merck has its own hepatitis C drug in clinical development that recently received breakthrough therapy status from the FDA.
Dive Insight:
Merck is refining and focusing its portfolio. First, it sold its consumer business to Bayer in early May for $14.2 billion, and now it is planning to purchase Idenix for $3.85 billion. Idenix stock prices were up 229% on Monday based on news of the acquisition.
Merck’s goal is to augment its hepatitis C portfolio and strategically increase its presence in the hepatitis C therapeutic marketplace. Idenix currently has two nucleotide prodrugs and an NS5A inhibitor (samastavir) in development. In October 2013, Merck received breakthrough therapy status for its oral, interferon-free, combination-drug hepatitis C therapy---MK-5172/MK-9742, an investigational combination of a protease inhibitor with an HCV NS5A inhibitor.
Merck is joining AbbVie and other companies in its aggressive pursuit of the hepatitis C market, because the potential upside is in the billions of dollars. Express Scripts has forecast an 1,800% increase in spending on hepatitis C medications by 2016, compared to last year.