Acquisition · Pharma
Otsuka agrees to buy Boston biotech Jnana for up to $1.1 billion
- Buyer
- Otsuka Pharmaceutical (Tokyo)
- Target
- Jnana Therapeutics, Boston, Massachusetts
- Value
- $800M upfront, plus up to $325M in milestones
- Status
- Completed in September 2024.
- Date
- 2024-08-01
Otsuka Pharmaceutical signed a merger agreement to acquire Jnana Therapeutics for $800 million at closing plus up to $325 million in development and regulatory milestones. Jnana's lead program, JNT-517, is an oral drug candidate for the rare metabolic disorder phenylketonuria (PKU). Jnana announced completion of the deal in September 2024.
Why it matters
With patents on its blockbuster antipsychotics nearing expiry, Otsuka is buying US early-stage science to refill its pipeline, and Jnana's drug discovery platform comes along with the PKU asset.
The deal
Otsuka announced the deal on August 1, 2024 and bought Jnana through its US arm, Otsuka America. Jnana kept running its research in Boston as a wholly owned subsidiary. Otsuka said the deal widens its work in rare diseases and strengthens its research in the Boston area, alongside its subsidiary Astex.
The PKU drug
People with phenylketonuria (PKU) cannot break down phenylalanine, an amino acid that can build up and harm the brain. JNT-517 blocks SLC6A19, a transporter that pulls phenylalanine back into the body in the kidneys, so more of it leaves in urine. In an early trial with 13 patients, reported in January 2024, it cut blood phenylalanine by 51% on average over 28 days and was well tolerated. A pivotal trial was planned for the second half of 2025.
About Jnana
Jnana launched in 2017 and built a discovery platform called RAPID to find drugs for targets that are hard to reach. It had partnerships with Roche and Neurocrine Biosciences. Its backers included Polaris Partners, Versant Ventures and AbbVie Ventures. Its last funding was a $107 million round in late 2022, led by Bain Capital Life Sciences.
Sources
Kakehashi M&A News home
