Jazz Pharmaceuticals Buys UK Cannabis Therapy Firm For £5.3bn
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GW Pharmaceuticals, a UK pharmaceutical company that specialises in cannabis-derived treatments for epilepsy has been bought by Ireland-based Jazz Pharmaceuticals in a $7.2 billion (£5.3 billion) takeover.
According to Life Sciences IP Review, the deal will allow Jazz to move beyond developing treatments for sleep disorders and cancer by adding GW Pharmaceuticals’ Epidolex, a cannabis-based drug that was approved in the US in 2018 or use in patients aged two years and older with rare childhood-onset forms of epilepsy.
GW Pharma has said that the deal with Jazz will help create a neuroscience therapy powerhouse. The combined organisations will bring highly complementary expertise to 19 clinical development programs across neuroscience and oncology, including in sleep, epilepsy, movement disorders, psychiatry, haematology and solid tumours.
GW Pharmaceuticals, based in Cambridge, is a world leader in the development, manufacturing and marketing of novel, regulatory approved therapeutics for a broad range of diseases derived from its proprietary cannabinoid product platform.
Its lead product is Epidolex, which has been approved for use in patients aged one-year-old and over for the treatment of seizures that are associated with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS), Dravet Syndrome and Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC), all of which are rare diseases characterised by severe early-onset epilepsy.
Epidiolex was the first plant-derived cannabinoid medicine ever approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The medicine has also been approved under the trade name Epidyolox by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for use with patients aged two-years-old and over for the treatment of seizures associated with LGS and Dravet syndrome in conjunction with clobazam and is under EMA review for the treatment of seizures associated with TSC.
Along with Epidiolex, the takeover will allow significant opportunities to pursue other indications within the epilepsy field, including other treatment-resistant epilepsies where significant unmet needs of patients exist.
There has been speculation about a take over of New York Stock Exchange-listed GW Pharmaceuticals for several years, and Jazz said the offer price represented a 50 per cent premium to GW’s closing share price on Tuesday.
Subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, the terms of the deal will see Jazz pay $220 per share, with $200 of that in cash and the rest in shares.
The US medical cannabis industry has been growing steadily and is expected to continue with predicted annual sales beyond $16bn (£11.7bn) by 2025, according to New Frontier Data, making it a very attractive takeover for Jazz. The transaction is expected to close in Q2 of 2021.
Bruce Cozadd, chairman and CEO of Jazz Pharmaceuticals, said: “Jazz is proud of our leadership position in sleep medicines and rapidly growing oncology business.
“We are excited to add GW’s industry-leading cannabinoid platform, innovative pipeline and products, which will strengthen and broaden our neuroscience portfolio, further diversify our revenue and drive sustainable, long-term value creation opportunities.”
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