By Rocky Swift

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s Astellas Pharma mentioned on Monday it agreed to purchase U.S. drugmaker Iveric Bio Inc for about $5.9 billion in its largest acquisition, giving it entry to a variety of ophthalmology therapies.

The deal marks the fifth main abroad acquisition by Astellas, Japan’s third largest drugmaker by gross sales, since 2019 in a push to shore up its pipeline as its principal sellers lose patent safety.

It’s the second-largest cross-border acquisition for a Japanese drugmaker prior to now 5 years, in keeping with Refinitiv information, following Takeda Pharmaceutical Co’s $6 billion buy of Nimbus Therapeutics’ psoriasis drug unit introduced in December.

And it comes on the heels of Kirin Holdings Co Ltd saying it will purchase Australian vitamin maker Blackmores Ltd for $1.2 billion.

New Jersey-based Iveric, previously branded as Ophthotech, is concentrated on growing therapies for retinal ailments, which inserts with Astellas’ deal with blindness and regeneration therapies.

The Iveric deal offers it drug candidates to deal with some 160 million folks worldwide affected by eye illnesses, notably in its residence market of Japan which has one of many world’s quickest growing older populations.

Iveric’s key asset is avacincaptad pegol (ACP), at the moment in trials for treating geographic atrophy, the superior stage of macular degeneration, a typical reason for imaginative and prescient loss within the aged.

ACP, branded as Zimura, targets the C5 protein suspected in inflicting the expansion of scarring related to the illness.

The U.S. Meals and Drug Administration in February granted precedence assessment of ACP, and if authorized, the remedy might be commercialised by the tip of this 12 months.

Together with therapies for menopause signs and bladder most cancers, Astellas is relying on ACP to make up for the lack of gross sales exclusivity of its mainstay prostate most cancers drug Xtandi, chief govt Naoki Okamura mentioned at a briefing.

“We imagine that that is going to be the third pillar,” mentioned Okamura, who ascended to the highest job final month.

TAKEOVER SPREE

Via Berry Merger Sub Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Astellas U.S. Holding, the Japanese firm agreed to amass Iveric for $40 per share in money, Astellas mentioned in a launch.

The worth is a 22% premium to Iveric’s $32.89 closing value on April 28.

Astellas has been aggressively chasing acquisitions, saying offers in late 2019 to purchase U.S. biotech Xyphos Biosciences for as much as $665 million and Audentes Therapeutics Inc for about $3 billion.

Its monitor document on offers has been combined, as the corporate needed to e-book large impairments on Audentes.

“This deal, nevertheless, is principally a couple of soon-to-be authorized asset, and appears much less more likely to generate impairment losses,” Jefferies analysts mentioned in a be aware on the Iveric acquisition.

Astellas will fund the Iveric buy through short-term loans and industrial paper amounting to about 800 billion yen ($5.8 billion).

Astellas shares gained 2.2% in Tokyo buying and selling, outperforming a 0.9% advance within the benchmark gauge.

($1 = 136.8700 yen)