Allergan has received US antitrust clearance for its proposed $1.7 billion acquisition of Tobira Therapeutics, a South San Francisco-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and other liver diseases. Tthe US Federal Trade Commission has granted early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (HSR) of 1976, as amended ,with respect to the acquisition. 

Allergan had announced the proposed acquisition in September 2016 for an upfront payment of $28.35 per share in cash, and up to $49.84 per share in contingent value rights, for a total potential consideration of up to $1.695 billion.The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction.The early termination of the HSR waiting period satisfies one of the conditions to the closing of the pending acquisition, which remains subject to other customary closing conditions. Both companies expect the transaction to be completed by the end of 2016.

Through the acquisition, Allergan would gain cenicriviroc (CVC) and evogliptin, two differentiated, complementary development programs for treating multi-factorial elements of NASH, including inflammation, metabolic syndromes and fibrosis. CVC is a once-daily, oral immunomodulator that blocks two chemokine receptors involved in the inflammatory and fibrogenic pathways in NASH. Evogliptin is an oral dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor for the potential treatment of NASH.

This is the second recent NASH-based acquisition by Allergan. The company acquired Akarna Therapeutics, a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company focused on small molecule therapeutics for inflammatory and fibrotic diseases in September 2016.. This acquisition gives Allergan AKN-083, Akarna Therapeutics’ preclinical farnesoid X receptor agonist in development for treating NASH. Allergan acquired Akarna for an up-front payment of $50 million, subject to certain adjustments as well as potential clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments related to its lead development compound, AKN-083.

Source: Allergan