Kyowa Kirin Set to Acquire Orchard Therapeutics for $477.6 million
The Japanese biotech company plans to make good use of Orchard’s portfolio, furthering its goal of providing life-changing medical care through cell and gene therapy.
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On Oct. 5, 2023, Kyowa Kirin Co, a biotechnological pharmaceutical company based in Japan, announced that it plans to acquire Orchard Therapeutics, a “global gene therapy leader” based in London, for approximately $477.6 million. Orchard’s history of developing and commercializing therapies for rare diseases will serve to enrich Kyowa Kirin’s growing portfolio and aligns with the company’s vision to “consistently create and deliver medicines with life-changing value that ultimately makes people smile, as a J-GSP.” Kyowa Kirin’s focus is on areas of great unmet need, and it is pursuing cell and gene therapies in order to meet that need head-on.
Among Orchard Therapeutics’ portfolio is Libmeldy (atidarsagene autotemcel), also known as OTL-200, which is intended for patients with early-onset metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), a rare and life-threatening metabolic disease. It has been approved by the European Commission and UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to treat late infantile and early juvenile patients with MLD. Currently, it is under Priority Review by FDA with a Prescription Drug User Fee Act goal date of March 18, 2024.
Orchard Therapeutics is also developing two clinical-stage programs, OTL-203 and OTL-201, to treat mucopolysaccharidosis type I or Hurler’s syndrome (MPS-IH) and mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIA (MPS-IIIA) or Sanfilippo syndrome. Both syndromes are severe pediatric neurometabolic disorders. Orchard also has several early research programs, including treatment for a severe, genetic form of Crohn’s disease and frontotemporal dementia that Kyowa Kirin plans to advance.
By combining Orchard’s HSC gene therapy platform technology with its own resources and abilities, Kyowa Kirin hopes to continue development of many biopharmaceutical candidates that have the potential to give life changing medical care, especially in Kyowa Kirin’s most experienced areas, such as oncology and autoimmune diseases.
Source: Kyowa Kirin
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