As of mid-March, Allergan (NYSE: AGN) has spent nearly $4 billion on three acquisitions in 2017. Although its $2.48 billion purchase of ZELTIQ® Aesthetics, Inc. accounts for most of that total, the pharmaceutical giant hasn’t failed to strengthen its several pipelines in the meantime.
On January 9, 2017, it purchased global rights to Assembly Biosciences’ (NASDAQ: ASMB) preclinical compounds for $50 million upfront. The compounds include ABI-M201 and ABI-M301, for ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), as well as two additional compounds to be identified by Assembly for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Then, on March 14, Allergan entered a strategic research and development alliance under which it will receive exclusive access to up to five of Editas Medicine’s (NASDAQ: EDIT) genome-editing ocular programs, including its lead program for Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA10), currently in pre-clinical development. The upfront payment for this agreement was $90 million, and Allergan’s subsidiary, Allergan Pharmaceuticals International Limited, will have the option to license up to five programs under the collaboration.
