Alexion acquires Taligen Therapeutics
Creates translational medicine group
US biopharmaceutical company Alexion Pharmaceuticals has bought Taligen Therapeutics, a development-stage biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US for US$111m in cash.
Additional payments will be made on reaching various clinical and product approval milestones in the US and EU for up to six products.
Alexion said the move expands its portfolio of product candidates and its capabilities in translational medicine by bringing additional researchers to the company.
Alexion gains pre-clinical compounds, including potential treatments for patients with ophthalmic diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), as well as other novel antibody and protein regulators of the inflammatory pathways.
Taligen's scientific staff will form the nucleus of Alexion's new Cambridge, US-based Translational Medicine Group, led by Abbie Celniker, former chief executive of Taligen and now head of Translational Medicine at Alexion. Celniker will report to Stephen Squinto, executive vice president and head of r&d at Alexion.