Mitokinin, Inc.

Pictured: Two businessmen shaking hands after closing a deal/iStock, Tippapatt Ajinomoto on Monday announced it is buying genetic medicine manufacturer Forge Biologics to deepen its biopharma services business and gain access to the gene therapy space, one of its priority next-generation strategic targets. Under the terms of the acquisition, Ajinomoto will make an all-cash payment of $620 million for Forge, which in turn will become a fully consolidated subsidiary once the transaction is complete. The companies expect to close the deal by the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, pending regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Forge, founded in 2020, is both a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) and a clinical-stage biotech company. Its headquarters is a 200,000-square foot cGMP facility located in Columbus, Ohio, where it has more than 300 employees. At the time of Monday’s acquisition announcement, Forge had a cash-free and debt-free enterprise value of $620 million—the deal’s exact price tag. However, by the time the buyout is executed, Forge’s equity value is expected to drop to an estimated $554 million, according to the press release. Aside from its manufacturing business, Forge also has two candidates in its pipeline: the Phase I/II FBX-101, which is being trialed for infantile Krabbe disease, and the early-stage FBX-201, which is still in the proof-of-concept phase of development for rare and monogenic diseases. In February 2023, Forge reported positive data for FBX-101, demonstrating improvements in motor function and brain development. Forge CMO Maria Escolar at the time called the results “encouraging” and said that the benefits “would not be anticipated in the absence of a systemic gene transfer.” According to Yasuyuki Otake, general manager of Ajinomoto’s Bio-Pharma Services Department, the acquisition of Forge will be “transformative” for the company’s core growth area of healthcare. “Forge brings Ajinomoto an entirely new capability that will vitally enhance our Bio-Pharma Services business,” Otake said in a statement. Monday’s buyout also continues the flurry of M&A activity in the biopharma industry. Last month, Roche scooped up Roivant subsidiary Televant Holdings for $7.1 billion, winning the anti-TL1A antibody RVT-3101 in the process, which is being developed for inflammatory bowel diseases. A few weeks earlier, BMS made its $4.8 billion play for Mirati Therapeutics and a bid to deepen its oncology franchise. At around the same time, AbbVie bought Mitokinin for $110 million, Eli Lilly dropped $1.4 billion for Point Biopharma and Kyowa Kirin acquired gene therapy developer Orchard Therapeutics for $387 million. Tristan Manalac is an independent science writer based in Metro Manila, Philippines. He can be reached at tristan@tristanmanalac.com or tristan.manalac@biospace.com.

AbbVie announced Wednesday that it has completed the acquisition of partner Mitokinin, gaining the latter's PINK1 activator under development to address the mitochondrial dysfunction that is believed to be a major contributor in Parkinson's disease pathogenesis and progression."While current Parkinson's disease treatments may alleviate the symptoms of parkinsonism, there are currently no available therapies that prevent progression of the disease," remarked Jonathon Sedgwick, global head of discovery research at AbbVie. He said targeting PINK1 could offer a novel approach.AbbVie agreed in 2021 to help advance Mitokinin's PINK1 activator programme through a deal that included an exclusive option to buy the company upon completion of investigational new drug (IND)-enabling studies for its lead compound, which facilitates the turnover of dysfunctional mitochondria.$545 million in potential milestonesMutations in PINK1 are associated with a loss of PINK1 function and cause familial forms of Parkinson's, while activating PINK1 may offer up a disease-modifying approach that could extend to improving mitochondrial health in sporadic Parkinson's disease. However, the challenge has been to develop selective, brain penetrant PINK1 activators for therapeutic use, the companies said."Our pre-clinical data demonstrate that our PINK1 activator compound can selectively enhance the active-form of PINK1, which is found on damaged mitochondria, without impacting PINK-1 regulation broadly," explained Nicholas Hertz, chief scientific officer at Mitokinin.Under the deal, Mitokinin shareholders receive $110 million at closing, and are eligible for up to $545 million upon the achievement of certain milestones related to the company's PINK1 programme, plus tiered royalties. Mitokinin launched in 2013 based on technology discovered at University of California, San Francisco, and its backers include Mission BioCapital, Pfizer Ventures and Samambaia Investments.

AbbVie has acquired a small biotechnology company and its experimental treatment for Parkinsons disease, adding to a recent string of deals that have expanded the large drugmakers presence in neuroscience.The target company, Mitokinin, was established a decade ago and built on discoveries from scientific co-founders Nicholas Hertz and Kevan Shokat. Its work revolves around an enzyme known as PINK1, which research indicates can protect neurons from damage and death by keeping the mitochondria the cells main energy supplier running properly.Notably, dysfunctional mitochondria are seen in a variety of brain and nervous system diseases, from Alzheimers to Huntingtons. Mitokinin says its drugs are designed to increase PINK1 activity and thereby help patients with Parkinsons.AbbVie has now exercised an exclusive right to acquire Mitokinin that it purchased back in 2021. Under that earlier deal, Mitokinin received an undisclosed payment and agreed to lead development of its most advanced program until the completion of studies that could get the drug cleared for human testing.Per terms of the acquisition announced Thursday, Mitokinin will receive $110 million upfront. Its shareholders are also eligible for further payments totaling as much as $545 million, provided the companys PINK1 program hits certain development and commercial milestones. Additionally, AbbVie has agreed to pay tiered royalties on any resulting products.“Parkinson's disease continues to be a major unmet medical need, impacting patients, caregivers and society. With this acquisition, we are excited to grow our neuroscience portfolio and explore a potential new treatment option for PD,“ said Jonathon Sedgwick, AbbVies global head of discovery research, in a statement.Until recently, many of the worlds biggest pharmaceutical firms had pulled back their investments in neuroscience, deterred by clinical trial setbacks and enticed by other areas of drug development that were producing powerful and lucrative new treatments for cancer, rare diseases and immune system disorders.Yet some of these players have returned to the space over the past few years. In 2021, GSK agreed to pay at least $700 million for rights to two experimental medicines for neurodegenerative diseases that were developed by the California-based biotech Alector. Months later, GSK announced a partnership with the University of Oxford to create a new center for drug development that would initially focus on diseases of the brain.AbbVie, meanwhile, has counted neuroscience as a core unit for some time. The company last year recorded more than $6.5 billion in net revenue from its slate of brain and nervous system drugs, which includes the mood disorder medication Vraylar, the migraine therapy Ubrelvy, as well as Botox. AbbVie also sells Duodopa, a medicine first approved in 2015 as a treatment for motor fluctuations in people with advanced Parkinson's.The purchase of Mitokinin comes on the heels of several neuroscience-focused acquisitions announced this summer. In late August, Otsuka Pharmaceutical said it would buy Toronto-based Mindset Pharma for 80 million Canadian dollars, or roughly $59 million. Two weeks prior, Harmony Biosciences disclosed plans to drop at least $60 million on Zynerba Pharmaceuticals and its experimental drug for rare neuropsychiatric disorders.Novartis joined in the fray too, announcing in July its acquisition of DTx Pharma, a biotech attempting to treat neurological conditions by using RNA technology.Large drugmakers like Amgen and Johnson & Johnson have also been backing startups dedicated to neuroscience. Pfizers venture arm, notably, was among the early investors in Mitokinin. '