Allergan announces acquisition of Akarna Therapeutics

Allergan Inc. recently announced the acquisition of Akarna Therapeutics for an upfront payment of $50 million.  

Per the agreement, the payment is subject to adjustments and potential clinical, regulatory and commercial milestone payments.

The deal falls in line with Allergan's focus on treating Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), a severe type of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) that can lead to cirrhosis, portal hypertension, liver cancer and eventual liver failure

"The acquisition of Akarna adds to our strategic approach to investing in innovation to advance the treatment of NASH for millions of patients who currently do not have therapeutic options to treat the disease," Allergan President and CEO Brent Saunders said. "We look forward to advancing this unique compound into later stages of development, and to advancing our overall portfolio of NASH programs, as we focus on bringing forward effective treatments for this critical disease area."

The milestone payments revolve around AKN-083, an experimental compound in development. Allergan will also acquire additional FXR compounds.

"AKN-083 is a highly differentiated, selective FXR agonist which is a strongly validated therapeutic mechanism for the treatment of NASH," Allergan Chief R&D Officer David Nicholson said. "In addition, AKN-083 is a non-bile acid FXR agonist that in preclinical studies has shown high affinity, potency and selectivity with a better tolerability profile. These characteristics make AKN-083 a great addition to our portfolio of assets for the treatment of NASH."