Bristol-Myers Squibb Company has acquired iPierian, a privately held biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of new treatments for Tauopathies, a class of neurodegenerative diseases associated with the pathological aggregation of Tau protein in the human brain.

Under the terms of the agreement, Bristol-Myers Squibb has acquired all of iPierian's issued and outstanding shares of capital stock and all common stock equivalents in an all cash transaction for a purchase price of $175 million, with the potential for additional development and regulatory milestone payments totaling $550 million, along with future royalties on net sales. The transaction is expected to be accounted for as an asset acquisition for Bristol-Myers Squibb resulting in a $175-million charge during the second quarter of 2014

The acquisition gives Bristol-Myers Squibb full rights to iPierian's lead asset IPN007, a preclinical monoclonal antibody to treat progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and other Tauopathies, and has the potential to commence Phase I clinical trials by early 2015. Genetically defined diseases, such as PSP, are caused by a known change in the genome. Knowledge of this genomic change is then used to design a therapeutic approach aimed precisely at that molecular defect, such as the anti-Tau antibody for PSP.

Source: Bristol-Myers Squibb