Biogen, Ionis Expand Collaboration; Biogen To Pay $1 Bln To License Therapies

(RTTNews) - Biogen (BIIB) and Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) announced they have expanded strategic collaboration through a new ten-year collaboration agreement to develop antisense drug candidates for a broad range of neurological diseases. Disease areas include dementia, neuromuscular diseases, movement disorders, ophthalmology, diseases of the inner ear, and neuropsychiatry.

Biogen will have the option to license therapies arising out of the collaboration and will be responsible for their development and commercialization. The company will pay Ionis $1 billion in cash, which will include $625 million to purchase 11,501,153 shares of Ionis common stock at a price of $54.34 per share, at an approximately 25% cash premium, and a $375 million upfront payment. Biogen may pay milestone payments, license fees and royalties on net sales.

The companies said the transaction builds upon the productive collaboration that produced SPINRAZA as well as two antisense drug candidates currently in the clinic, with the potential to advance up to seven more drug candidates to the clinic within the next two years.