By Donald Zuhn --
Last Tuesday, GlaxoSmithKline and Sirtris Pharmaceuticals announced that the companies had entered into a definitive agreement under which GlaxoSmithKline would acquire Sirtris Pharmaceuticals for approximately $720 million. The acquisition is motivated by GSK's desire to enhance its metabolic, neurology, immunology, and inflammation research efforts by utilizing Sirtris' expertise in the field of sirtuins, a class of enzymes (NAD-dependent histone deacetylases) that are believed to be involved in the aging process. According to a statement released by the companies, Sirtris has established a drug discovery capability that exploits sirtuin modulation for the treatment of human disease, and has been particularly focused on the development of SIRT1 activators for the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
While Sirtris will become part of GSK’s Drug Discovery organization following the acquisition, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biopharmaceutical company will continue to operate as an autonomous drug discovery unit. Sirtris was recently awarded U.S. Patent No. 7,345,178, which is directed to sirtuin-modulating compounds and methods of using such compounds. The company also has at least nine U.S. patent publications, each of which is related to sirtuin-modulating compounds.
Last Friday, Solvay Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of the Solvay Group, and Innogenetics announced that Solvay Pharmaceuticals has launched a "friendly bid" to acquire Innogenetics for €177.6 million (or $276.9 million). According to a statement released by the companies, Solvay began collaborating with Innogenetics in 1997 and has been utilizing Innogenetics' technologies in its own drug discovery efforts since that time. Solvay Pharmaceuticals CEO Werner Cautreels explained that the tender offer was based on Solvay's "belief that the future of drug development lies in the design of personalized treatments with improved safety and efficacy," and that by adding Innogenetics' technologies, Solvay would be able to identify the best possible treatment for different patient groups.
Solvay intends to preserve the operational autonomy of Innogenetics, while continuing to develop and expand the company’s diagnostics business. Innogenetics owns 118 U.S. patents and has at least 61 U.S. patent publications.
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