(05:00 GMT) *Ipsen to Buy Memo Therapeutics (05:02 GMT) *Ipsen to Buy Memo Therapeutics to Expand Rare Disease Portfolio (05:03 GMT) *Ipsen: Memo Shareholders Will Receive EUR200M Payment at Closing (05:04 GMT) *Ipsen: Potential Acquisition Price Is In Excess of EUR700M Including Milestone Payments (05:05 GMT) *Ipsen: Acquisition Focused on Clinical-Stage Program Potravitug Against BK Polyomavirus (05:10 GMT) *Ipsen: Memo's Assets, Employees Not Related to Potravitug Will Be Transferred to New Company (05:33 GMT) Ipsen to Buy Swiss Biotech Memo in Deal That Could Top $800 Million
By Adria Calatayud
Ipsen said it agreed to buy Swiss biotechnology company Memo Therapeutics in a deal that could exceed 700 million euros ($799.6 million) and that seeks to expand the French drugmaker's rare-disease portfolio.
The move marks Ipsen's second acquisition this week after its agreement to take over Kartos Therapeutics, a company developing a drug to treat a rare blood cancer, for up to $1.75 billion.
Ipsen said it would pay 200 million euros initially and make deferred payments subject to certain development, regulatory approval and sales-based targets that could take the total price above 700 million euros.
The deal focuses on Memo's experimental drug potravitug for the treatment of nephropathy associated with BK polyomavirus, a complication in kidney transplant recipients, Ipsen said. The drug--which was granted fast-track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2023--is due to move to a mid- and late-stage clinical trial later this year, the company added.
Memo's assets and employees unrelated to potravitug will be transferred to a newly established company, Memorises Bio, owned by the company's shareholders, Ipsen said.
Ipsen said it expects the deal to be completed in the third quarter, subject to customary closing conditions, and that the impact of the acquisition is factored into its full-year guidance.
Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com