Human beings tend to excel in many different areas, and yet their greatest ability is the one that pushes them to get better on a consistent basis. This ability, in particular, has already fetched us some huge milestones, with technology appearing as a pretty major member of the stated squad. The reason why we hold technology in such a high regard is because of its skill-set, which realized all the possibilities for us that we couldn’t have imagined otherwise. Nevertheless, if we look a little bit closer, it becomes clear how the whole runner was also very much inspired by how we utilized those skills across a real-world environment. The latter component was, in fact, what gave the creation a spectrum-wide presence, including a timely appearance on our healthcare block. Technology’s foray into healthcare was so perfect with its timing, as it came right when the sector was beginning to struggle against its own obsolete structure. This reality, fortunately enough, went through a complete overhaul under the new regime, but even after achieving such a monumental feat, the new and budding medtech concept will somehow keep on delivering all the right goods. The same has turned more and more evident over the recent past, and truth be told, a new acquisition does a lot to make that trend bigger and better moving forward.
Merck, a New Jersey-based medtech player, is officially set to acquire Imago BioSciences for a whopping sum of $1.3 billion. According to certain reports, the company will pay $36 for each one of Imago’s outstanding shares, marking a 107% premium on the latter’s recent stock price. But why did it pick Imago? Well, in case you were not aware, Imago is best known for developing blood and bone marrow disorder therapies that can offer significant advantages over currently available treatments. Talk about how the company makes that possible, it does so using its lead drug candidate, bomedemstat, which is in development for treating several different types of myeloproliferative neoplasms, a group of disorders in which the bone marrow produces excess red blood cells, platelets, or certain types of white blood cells. This unwarranted excess of cells in blood and the bone marrow has shown to cause a range of medical problems, including bleeding, anemia, infection, fatigue, and even cancer. Bomedemstat, on its part, solves that very problem by blocking lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1), an enzyme which plays a key role in the bone marrow’s production of blood cells.
“This milestone is a testament to more than a decade of pioneering research by Imago scientists and the entire Imago team’s unwavering dedication to improving the lives of patients,” said Dr. Hugh Y. Rienhoff, Jr., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Imago BioSciences. “This agreement leverages Merck’s industry-leading clinical development expertise to maximize the therapeutic potential of bomedemstat while providing important value for shareholders.”
Going by an abstract for the myelofibrosis study submitted to the American Society of Hematology (ASH), patients treated with the Imago drug showed a 66% reduction in spleen volume (an enlarged spleen is one of the complications of myelofibrosis). As for the patients who required blood transfusions to manage their disease, 14% of them became transfusion independent. Guess what, the study also didn’t witness any dose-limiting side-effects.
Make no mistake, though, Imago isn’t the only company trying to get us past the stated conundrum, as the likes of GSK, Bristol Meyers Squib, CTI BioPharma, and many others are also in the mix. However, assuming it shakes out just the way it is envisioned, Imago’s bid has the potential to be a much safer and more effective alternative going forward.
Interestingly, the deal in question is actually the second blood disorder-related acquisition for Merck this year. Prior to buying out Imago, the company shelled out an unbelievable $11.5 billion to purchase Acceleron Pharma, , whose lead drug candidate, sotatercept, is a potential treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension.
“We continue to invest in our pipeline with a focus on applying our unique capabilities to unlock the value of breakthrough science for the patients we serve,” said Robert Davis, CEO and President of Merck. “This acquisition of Imago augments our pipeline and strengthens our presence in the growing field of hematology.”
Unanimously approved by Merck’s executive board, the deal is now set to close in the first quarter of 2023.
