ARTICLE | Deals
Royalty deal fuels MorphoSys’ $1.7B Constellation takeout, fattening pipeline behind Monjuvi
Acquisition gives German biotech two clinical cancer assets
June 2, 2021 10:34 PM UTC
Less than a year after participating in its first drug launch, MorphoSys is padding its thin pipeline and accelerating its transformation into a commercial biopharma by acquiring epigenetics company Constellation for $1.7 billion, with a separate deal to finance the buyout through an agreement with Royalty Pharma.
The takeout of 13-year-old Constellation Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:CNST) gives Germany’s MorphoSys AG (Xetra:MOR; NASDAQ:MOR) a pair of clinical candidates: BET inhibitor pelabresib (CPI-0610), which is in a Phase III program to treat myelofibrosis, and EZH2 inhibitor CPI-0209, which is in Phase II testing for hematologic malignancies and — expanding MorphoSys’ reach — solid tumors...