Acquisitions · Pharma
Astellas buys prostate cancer drug developer Propella for $175 million
- Buyer
- Astellas Pharma (Tokyo)
- Target
- Propella Therapeutics, Pittsboro, North Carolina
- Value
- $175M
- Status
- Completed in December 2023.
- Date
- 2023-11-15
Astellas agreed to buy Propella Therapeutics, a North Carolina biotech, for about $175 million in cash. Propella's lead drug, PRL-02, is a long-acting version of abiraterone for metastatic prostate cancer in early clinical trials.
Why it matters
Astellas built its business on the prostate cancer drug Xtandi, which faces patent expiry later this decade, and Propella adds another prostate cancer asset to its pipeline.
The drug
PRL-02 is abiraterone decanoate, a prodrug given as an injection into muscle. Once in the body it releases abiraterone steadily, aiming for high levels in the target tissue. Astellas said its more selective blocking of the CYP17 lyase enzyme could mean better results and fewer side effects than existing treatments.
Next steps
When the deal closed on December 21, 2023, PRL-02 was in a Phase 1 trial, with Phase 2a expected to start in 2024. Propella was led by president and chief executive William Moore. Astellas said the effect on its results for that fiscal year would be limited.
Sources
Kakehashi M&A News home
