Week of October 14, 2019 | Vol. 8, Issue 41
In This Issue
Featured Headlines
Recent Industry Transactions
Industry Trading Comps
Recent Industry Headlines
Market Reports
Upcoming Events

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Managing Director
Business Development

Managing Director
Head of M&A and Capital Advisory
INDUSTRY M&A SNAPSHOT

Above is an overview of recent industry M&A activity. For additional information, see the charts below or click on the chart above to download complete transaction tables broken out by industry sub sectors.
After playing an unexpected game of executive musical chairs, Akcea Therapeutics has inked a deal with a potential rival. For $250 million upfront, Akcea is  licensing  an antisense therapy to Pfizer to be developed for “certain cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.” 

Akcea is already testing the treatment, AKCEA-ANGPTL3-LRx, in a phase 2 study involving patients with Type 2 diabetes, hypertriglyceridemia and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Under the deal, Akcea and Ionis Therapeutics—the company that spun four of its programs out into Akcea in 2015—will split the license fee as well as milestone payments that could total up to $1.3 billion. Pfizer will take over all development and regulatory work beyond the ongoing phase 2 study.

The antisense treatment is designed the cut the production of a protein called angiopoietin-like 3 (ANGPTL3) in the liver. The protein plays a key role in regulating triglycerides, cholesterol, glucose and energy metabolism. 

RECENT INDUSTRY TRANSACTIONS
An Overview of Transactions Within Market Sub-segments
Below are summaries and charts with the past week's transactions from the different healthcare sectors. For a detailed table showing data for each industry transaction click on any of the charts. Total transaction values are provided in USD millions.
Pharma & Biotech
8 transactions totaling $2,432 million
Supplies, Equipment & Services
22 transactions totaling $409 million
Healthcare IT & Managed Care
9 transactions
Healthcare Facilities & Distributors
17 transactions totaling $124 million
Pharma & Biotech
19 transactions totaling $291 million
Supplies, Equipment & Services
21 transactions totaling $191 million
Healthcare IT & Managed Care
6 transactions totaling $22 million
Healthcare Facilities & Distributors
2 transactions totaling $40 million
Pharma & Biotech
12 transactions totaling $900 million
Supplies, Equipment & Services
4 transactions totaling $41 million
Healthcare IT & Managed Care
2 transactions totaling $12 million
Healthcare Facilities & Distributors
0 transactions
INDUSTRY TRADING COMPS
A Breakdown of Relevant Trading Multiples
Each week, we provide updated trading comps for leading companies from numerous healthcare sub-sectors.
To the right you will see a high-level breakdown of median revenue and EBITDA multiples for each of the specific sub sectors.

For a complete trading comp analysis (including the individual equities that comprise the sub sectors), click on the table. 

Note: data reflects prior week close.
RECENT INDUSTRY TRANSACTIONS
A Sampling of Relevant Industry Headlines from Last Week
Below are snippets from relevant industry news articles from the past week. For additional information or the article's complete text, click the headline link to view the original publication.
October 10, 2019 - BioPharma Dive
Reata Pharmaceuticals said Thursday it will pay AbbVie $330 million over the next two years to re-acquire most of the ex-U.S. rights for its leading drug candidates.
In 2010, AbbVie, then still a part of Abbott, paid $450 million for those international rights to bardoxolone methyl along with other experimental compounds in an R&D deal. Now, Reata will hold nearly worldwide commercialization rights for its lead drugs, with the exception of Asian markets for bardoxolone, which the company licensed to the Japanese pharma Kyowa Kirn in 2010.

October 10, 2019 - Fierce Biotech
UCB Pharma has struck a $2.5 billion (€2.2 billion) deal to  acquire  Ra Pharmaceuticals. The takeover will give UCB control of a phase 3 rival to Alexion’s Soliris that some analysts have tipped to rack up blockbuster sales.
Ra is focused on a once-daily, self-administered, subcutaneous C5 inhibitor called zilucoplan. The peptide moved into phase 3 in myasthenia gravis earlier this month on the strength of midphase data suggesting it may pose a threat to Alexion’s claim on the indication and its broader stranglehold on the market for complement-mediated disease therapies.

October 10, 2019 - Outsourcing Pharma
Insilico Medicine will use its next-generation AI platform to accelerate CRFH’s drug discovery and development efforts – a deal that exemplifies maturation in the market as researchers explore new ways to conduct R&D.

October 9, 2019 - Fierce Biotech
Bayer has entered into a drug discovery  collaboration with Riken Innovation. The agreement will give Bayer the chance to explore drug targets based on research at a leading Japanese scientific research institute.
Riken Innovation is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Japanese research institute from which it takes its name. The institute, called Riken, employs more than 3,000 researchers and has an annual budget of close to $900 million. Riken Innovation, which began operating last month, will work to bring the benefits of its parent organization’s research to the public by collaborating with industry.

October 9, 2019 - BioPharma Dive
Novo Nordisk and Bluebird bio  will collaborate  to develop genome editing treatments for genetic diseases, citing specifically the bleeding disease hemophilia as a target disorder. The two companies did not disclose terms of their agreement.
The three-year deal will focus initially on one-time treatments correcting mutations causing deficiencies in clotting Factor VIII, which causes hemophilia A. Novo Nordisk's marketed product NovoEight treats this condition by replacing Factor VIII with an infusion as often as every other day. Novo's portfolio of hemophilia treatments are under pressure as Roche's Hemlibra, which can be dosed monthly, takes market share in hemophilia A. Potentially one-time gene therapies using viral vectors, meanwhile, are advancing into late clinical development.

MARKET REPORTS
Recent Materials Providing Insight Into Healthcare Related Industries