Asahi Kasei offers $1.06B to acquire Calliditas

Japanese chemical conglomerate Asahi Kasei has made a significant move to acquire Swedish biopharmaceutical company Calliditas Therapeutics, offering a substantial 11.16 billion Swedish crowns ($1.06 billion) in cash. This acquisition initiative follows Calliditas' full FDA approval for its leading immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) treatment, Tarpeyo.

Approval from key stakeholders, including BVF Partners, Linc AB, and Stiftelsen Industrifonden, along with other major security holders, signifies a strong backing for the deal. The acceptance period for this offer is anticipated to begin around July 18 and conclude by August 30.

Asahi Kasei’s proposal represents a 74% premium compared to Calliditas’ closing share price of $22.42 in the U.S. market on May 24. Calliditas’ shares are listed on both Nasdaq New York and Nasdaq Stockholm, which adds to the strategic significance of this acquisition.

The board of Calliditas views this acquisition as a positive step forward. They anticipate that Asahi’s extensive experience in rare disease drug development and commercialization will enhance Calliditas’ growth trajectory and pipeline development. Under the umbrella of Asahi, Calliditas aims to accelerate its revenue growth by leveraging Asahi’s existing marketed offerings.

For Asahi Kasei, this acquisition is part of a broader strategy to expand its footprint in “immunology, transplantation, and adjacent diseases,” with a particular emphasis on the U.S. market. The integration of Tarpeyo into Asahi’s portfolio is seen as a strategic fit with its current geographic and therapeutic strengths.

Asahi Kasei, a leading industrial firm in Japan, operates across multiple sectors including chemicals, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. In 2020, Asahi established a U.S. pharmaceutical business platform by acquiring Veloxis Pharmaceuticals. More recently, in 2022, the company acquired Bionova Scientific, a Bay Area biologics manufacturer, to enhance its capabilities in the CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization) sector.

The acquisition's objectives are threefold: to bolster Asahi’s U.S. presence by expanding its in-house sales infrastructure for renal and autoimmune diseases, to establish a foothold in Europe initially focused on R&D, and to broaden the scope of its in-licensing and new drug development opportunities.

This acquisition comes on the heels of Calliditas' upgrade from an accelerated approval to full FDA approval for Tarpeyo, making it the first fully approved treatment for the chronic autoimmune kidney condition IgAN, also known as Berger’s disease. The expanded approval allows Tarpeyo to treat all IgAN patients, not just those at high risk for rapid disease progression.

In addition to announcing the Asahi acquisition, Calliditas presented further efficacy and real-world data analysis on Tarpeyo at the 61st meeting of the European Renal Association (ERA). Their analysis indicated that nine months of treatment with Tarpeyo resulted in greater eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate) benefits compared to two years of continuous treatment with sparsentan, another measure of kidney function.

This strategic acquisition by Asahi Kasei underlines the company's commitment to expanding its global influence in the pharmaceutical sector, particularly in rare diseases, while providing Calliditas with the resources to further its mission and product offerings.