Sosei Acquires Heptares Therapeutics for up to $400M

sosei_logoSosei Group Corporation (TOKYO:4565), a Japanese biopharmaceutical company with operations in Japan and the UK, acquired Heptares Therapeutics Limited, a UK-based clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on creating novel medicines targeting G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), for up to $400m.

Sosei acquired 100% of Heptares’ share capital for $180m in cash and up to $220m upon the successful progression of its pipeline and platform.

The combination of the two companies will create a global biopharmaceutical group with drug discovery and clinical development capabilities for generating innovative medicines, a pipeline with growth prospects, and access to regulatory expertise across the EU, US and Japan.
Heptares will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the group, which will continue to be led by Shinichi Tamura as Chairman and CEO, with its existing R&D operations continuing in the UK.

heptares_logoFounded in 2007 based on the work of its founding scientists Richard Henderson and Christopher Tate at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (Cambridge, UK) and led by Dr Malcolm Weir, CEO, Heptares is a clinical-stage company creating medicines targeting G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), a superfamily of 375 receptors linked to a wide range of human diseases.
Its proprietary structure-based drug design technology has enabled it to build a pipeline of new medicines with the potential to transform the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, ADHD, diabetes, schizophrenia, migraine, and other diseases.
Pharmaceutical partners include Cubist, MorphoSys, Takeda, AstraZeneca and MedImmune.

Investors in Heptares included MVM Life Science Partners, Clarus Ventures, Novartis Venture Fund, Takeda Ventures and the Stanley Family Foundation.

Following the deal, Dr Weir will remain as CEO of Heptares and will also join the Group as Chief R&D Officer and will be responsible for worldwide research and development outside Japan.

FinSMEs

23/02/2015

Join the discussion