GSK buys Sirtris
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
GlaxoSmithKline will acquire Sirtris Pharmaceuticals for approximately $720 million through a cash tender offer of $22.50 per share, which is an 84 percent premium on Sirtris' closing price April 22 - the day the deal was announced. GSK says the acquisition will "significantly enhance its metabolic, neurology, immunology and inflammation research efforts by establishing a presence in the field of sirtuins," a seven-member family of proteins long thought to play a role in the aging process, with "potentially transformative" benefits addressing diseases such as diabetes, muscle wasting and neuron-degeneration. Sirtris' lead compound, the resveratrol formulation SRT501, "significantly" lowered glucose in an oral glucose tolerance test conducted as part of a 28-day Phase 1b clinical study in type 2 diabetes patients, the firm said in January (1"The Tan Sheet" Jan. 14. 2008, In Brief). Sirtris will become part of GSK's Drug Discovery division while operating in Cambridge, Mass., as an autonomous unit. The deal is subject to closing conditions, but the firms expect the tender offer to commence in May and close in the second quarter of 2008...
You may also be interested in...
GSK completes Sirtris acquisition
GlaxoSmithKline acquires Sirtris Pharmaceuticals for approximately $720 million through a cash tender offer and merger of $22.50 per share, the firms state June 6. The buy significantly enhances GSK's "metabolic, neurology, immunology and inflammation research efforts by establishing a presence in the field of sirtuins, a recently discovered class of enzymes that is believed to be involved in the ageing process," according to the London-based firm. Sirtris' lead compound is resveratrol based (1"The Tan Sheet" April 28, 2008, In Brief)....
Proprietary resveratrol in tests
Sirtris Pharmaceuticals' SRT501 resveratrol-containing drug was safe, well-tolerated and "significantly" lowered glucose in an oral glucose tolerance test conducted as part of a 28-day Phase 1b clinical study in patients with type 2 diabetes, which is the first human study of the drug, the Cambridge, Mass.-based biopharmaceutical firm says Jan. 7. The study was designed to assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of once-daily, orally administered doses of 2.5 g or 5 g of SRT501, which contains the firm's proprietary resveratrol substance, in type 2 diabetes patients. Pharmacokinetic levels, a measure of drug levels in the blood, were identical at days one and 28, suggesting no drug accumulation. SRT501 showed a statistically significant improvement in an oral glucose tolerance test on day 28 at two hours and a trend toward lower fasting plasma glucose levels. Natural resveratrol is a phytoalexin found in the skin of red grapes and is generating interest as a supplement ingredient (1"The Tan Sheet" Nov. 26, 2007, p. 13)...
Japan Grants Global-First Approval To Zolbetuximab, 15 Other New Drugs
Astellas's first-in class CLDN18.2-targeting antibody receives its first approval worldwide, while crovalimab and a number of drugs for rare diseases also receive nods from regulators and are now awaiting reimbursement price-listing.