Baxter International Inc has acquired SuppreMol GmbH, a privately held biopharmaceutical company based in Martinsried, Germany developing treatment options for autoimmune and allergic diseases, for EUR 200 million ($225 million ) before working capital and other adjustments. The acquisition includes SuppreMol’s early-stage development portfolio ofbiologic immunoregulatory therapeutics for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, focusing on the modulation of Fc receptor signaling pathways, an immune target that could have broad applications in autoimmune disorders. In addition to the portfolio, Baxter also acquires and will continue to operate SuppreMol’s operations in Munich.

SuppreMol’s pipeline includes lead candidate SM101, an investigational immunoregulatory treatment that has completed Phase IIa studies in idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP, a disorder causing low platelet levels) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, a disorder in which the immune system attacks healthy tissue). The pipeline also includes technologies with potential therapeutic applications in other autoimmune diseases as well as IgE-mediated allergic diseases.The company is focusing on the development of a soluble Fc-gamma receptor IIB (sFc RIIB), which is a recombinant autologous therapeutic protein with a specific immunoregulatory potential. The company is developing this sFc RIIB clinically for the treatment of certain autoimmune conditions including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). SuppreMol’s preclinical pipeline includes two antibody development programs which use e the inhibitory effect of Fc RIIB and are suitable for alternative treatment strategies in autoimmune disease and allergy.

SuppreMol was founded as a spin-off from the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Robert Huber, Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry 1988, at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Martinsried, Germany. Major shareholders in the company include MIG Fonds, Santo Holding GmbH, BioMedInvest AG I and FCP Biotech Holding GmbH along with KfW Mittelstandsbank, Bayern Kapital GmbH, Max Planck Society, and Z-Cube.

Source: Baxter