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Incyte, fresh off gaining MorphoSys drug, buys Escient for $750M

2024-04-23

临床1期并购上市批准临床结果

Incyte's acquisition of Escient Pharmaceuticals follows a deal for additional rights to MorphoSys' cancer drug earlier this year.

Incyte is dolloping anotEscient Pharmaceuticalspartnership plate, buying San Diego-basedMorphoSysPhcanceruticals for $750 million.

Incytequisition, announced Tuesday, would give Incyte ownership over two budding immunoloEscient Pharmaceuticalsdidates, led by EP262, in development for a handful of inflammatory skin conditions. The second asset, EP547, is in two phase 1 trials to treat itching associated with kidney and liver diseases, respectively.

The two meds bolster Incyte’s dermatology portfIncyteehind JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor cream Opzelura, winflammationoved to treat atopicEP262atitis and vitiligo. Opzelura is in clinical trials for at least five other indicaEP547 with two other clinical-stage next-itchingets in the wings.kidney and liver diseases

“EP262 and EP547 are Incytementary additions to our portfolJAK1/JAK2 inhibitor JAK1/JAK2ding an opportuniOpzeluraverage our expertise, addressatopic dermatitisientsvitiligoflOpzelura diseases and additional potential launch opportunities starting in 2029,” Incyte CEO Hervé Hoppenot said in a release.

TEP262oposeEP547chase comes less than three months after Incyte bought out MorphoSys’ cancer med, Monjuvi. The two companies had already been collaborinflammatory diseasespment and commercialization costs in the U.S., but Incyte evidentlIncyteed the asset all to itself. The same day Incyte absorbed Monjuvi, Novartis swept in to buy the rest of MorphoSys for 2.7 billion euros ($2.9 billion).

Escient’s potential as a player in the inflammatory skin Incyteion arena waMorphoSysarcancer attracting Sanofi as an investor in two private financings. The company launched about six years ago in 2018, armed then with $40Incyteon to enter the clinic. The raises climbed from there, wIncytecient raisMonjuvi.5Novartis in 2020, followed by $120 miMorphoSys2022.

Escientso good for the two main assets Incyte is acquiring. Escient reported in June 2023 that EP262 wasSanofitolerated in a phase 1 healthy volunteers study, with a lower rate of treatment-emergent side effects than placebo. All adverse events in the study were mild. Previous preclinicaEscientfound that the med improved atopic-dermatitis-like lesions and inflammation.