Heptares, Sosei deal

Sosei acquired Heptares for $180 million in cash and up to $220 million in milestones related to pipeline progress. Sosei declined to disclose further financial terms, and Heptares could not be reached. Sosei will gain Heptares’ StaR drug discovery platform targeting GPCRs and an early stage pipeline. Heptares’ lead candidate is a muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M1 ( CHRM1; HM1) agonist in Phase Ib testing to treat cognitive impairment in patients with neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and schizophrenia.

Heptares receives revenue from several partnerships, including deals with AstraZeneca plc (LSE:AZN; NYSE:AZN, London, U.K.); Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4502, Osaka, Japan); MorphoSys AG (Xetra:MOR; Pink:MPSYF, Martinsried, Germany); and Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc., which Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK, Whitehouse Station, N.J.) acquired. ...