Shire To Acquire Dyax In $5.9 Bln Cash Deal

(RTTNews) - Shire Plc. (SHPG, SHP.L) and Dyax Corp. (DYAX) Monday said Shire would acquire Dyax for $37.30 in cash per Dyax share, for aggregate upfront consideration of about $5.9 billion.

Dyax shareholders may receive additional value through a non-tradable contingent value right or CVR that will pay $4.00 in cash per Dyax share upon approval of DX-2930 in Hereditary Angioedema or HAE. This represents a potential additional $646 million in aggregate contingent consideration.

Dyax is a publicly traded, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company primarily focused on the development of plasma kallikrein or pKal inhibitors for the treatment of HAE, a debilitating and sometimes life-threatening rare genetic disease.

Dyax has already developed and commercialized KALBITOR, which is approved for HAE acute treatment in patients 12 years of age and older, and represented an early innovation in HAE treatment.

Dyax's most advanced clinical program is DX-2930, a Phase 3-ready, fully humanized monoclonal antibody targeting pKal with proof-of-concept Phase 1B efficacy data. It has received Fast Track, Breakthrough Therapy, and Orphan Drug designations by the FDA and has also received Orphan Drug status in the EU.

DX-2930 has the potential to expand HAE-treated patients and achieve annual worldwide sales of up to $2 billion with exclusivity beyond 2030.

The deal combines Dyax's HAE commercial and research and development expertise with Shire's HAE leadership and proven ability to advance rare disease assets through development to commercialization.