Altavant Sciences announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Onspira Therapeutics, a private drug development company similarly focused on therapeutics for rare pulmonary diseases. This acquisition expands Altavant’s pipeline to include OSP-101, a novel inhaled interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) with orphan drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. OSP-101 is in preclinical development for the treatment of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), the leading non-infectious complication following lung transplantation and a major cause of death in these patients.
“Adding OSP-101 to our pipeline creates significant value for Altavant, while also furthering our mission to develop drugs for patients with very serious and rare lung diseases,” said William T. Symonds, Pharm.D., Chief Executive Officer of Altavant. “Although a majority of lung transplant recipients develop this life-threatening condition, there are no treatments approved specifically for BOS and the current therapies have limited efficacy.”
Joshua Diamond, MD, MSCE, Associate Medical Director of the Lung Transplant Program at the University of Pennsylvania, commented, “Despite advances in the management of patients following a lung transplant, BOS continues to be the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in these patients. We have a significant need for new therapies that will halt this progressive loss of lung function and improve the survival and quality of life for lung transplant patients.”
“I am proud of the achievements of the entire Onspira Therapeutics team as we have progressed the OSP-101 program,” said Brian Lortie, Chief Executive Officer of Onspira Therapeutics. He added, “We have been impressed by the talented and experienced professionals at Altavant, and we are confident that they are the right team to develop OSP-101 for the treatment of post-lung transplant BOS. This is an important program to bring forward for the benefit of lung transplant patients, and we believe Altavant is well-positioned to achieve this goal.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Onspira’s shareholders received an upfront payment and will receive additional payments upon the achievement of development, regulatory and commercial milestones. In addition, Onspira’s shareholders will be eligible for royalties on net sales. This is the first acquisition conducted by a subsidiary of the the newly-formed Sumitovant Biopharma. The acquisition has closed and will have a minor effect on Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma’s consolidated financial results for FY2019.
Hogan Lovells US LLP served as Altavant’s legal counsel. Aquilo Partners, L.P. acted as the financial advisor to Onspira on the transaction and Duane Morris LLP served as Onspira’s legal counsel.