Dive Brief:
- For the past three months, Dublin-based Shire has been attempting to acquire Baxter spin-off Baxalta, based in Deerfield, IL, for $30 billion. These efforts have been unsuccessful so far.
- The company on Monday reached a $5.9 billion deal for Dyax. The deal is debt-funded and is structured to pay $37.30 for each share of Dyax, which represents a 35.3% premium over the closing stock price from last week.
- With the deal, Shire gets an already approved drug for hereditary angioedema (HAE), a therapeutic area in which Dyax has a presence with its drug Kalbitor. In addition, Shire is acquiring Dyax's lead candidate, DX-2930, also an HAE drug, which is seen as a potential blockbuster.
Dive Insight:
At this point, the Baxalta deal doesn't seem to be moving forward, but Shire continues to insist that it's not giving up on the bid. The Dyax deal looks promising because of the distinct synergies between Shire's current HAE products—Firazyr and Cinryze—and the drugs in Dyax's portfolio.
HAE is a rare genetic condition that affects up to 10,000 people in the US. Symptoms include rapid swelling all over the body, including the arms, legs, hands, face, airways, and intestinal tract. Without immediate treatment, HAE can be fatal.
Shire believes that the total market opportunity for DX-2930 is $2 billion by 2030, with an additional $68 million from Kalbitor and prospects of sales increasing to $100 million.