Akcea Therapeutics Is Returning to Parent Ionis Pharma in $500M Buyout
Summary
As the lead Akcea drug candidate neared a regulatory submission in 2017, Ionis announced plans to spin the subsidiary out as a separate, publicly traded company. The lead drug, volanesorsen (Waylivra), was developed as a treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS), an inherited disorder that impedes the body’s ability to break down fats. A second Akcea drug, inotersen (Tegsedi) won US and European approvals in 2018 as a treatment for the peripheral nerve damage caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis. Those decisions put the Akcea drug in competition with patisiran (Onpattro), an RNA interference therapy developed by Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALNY). Following last year’s management shakeup, the Akcea board appointed former Ionis chief business officer, Damien McDevitt, to lead the biotech as CEO.
Classifications
AskAI Classifications
LabelsLinked Companies
