Ipsen strikes $1.3B Clementia buyout to boost rare disease unit
Ipsen has struck a $1.3B deal to buy Clementia Pharmaceuticals for its late-phase rare disease drug palovarotene, a retinoic acid receptor gamma agonist. Clementia picked up the worldwide rights to palovarotene from Roche in 2013.
Having raised a $60M mezzanine round and pulled off a $137M IPO, Clementia generated phase 2 data on the use of palovarotene in fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) that could support a filing for FDA approval later this year. Clementia was gearing up to commercialize the drug but has opted to sell instead.