Freshly equipped with two approved meds from Acorda Therapeutics, Frankfurt, Germany’s Merz Therapeutics is kicking its specialty neurology ambitions into high gear.
Wednesday, the drugmaker said it closed a $185 million deal to acquire Acorda Therapeutics’ inhaled Parkinson’s disease med Inbrija and its sustained release multiple sclerosis (MS) tablet Ampyra, which goes by the name Fampyra in certain markets.
The deal will allow the largely movement-disorder-focused company to expand its existing foothold in Parkinson’s disease and “lay an anchor” with Merz Therapeutics' first product in MS, the company’s CEO, Stefan König, said in an interview. As part of the expansion, Merz Therapeutics plans to grow its U.S. workforce by up to 50%.
“Essentially, we want to build on our existing strength in movement disorders and in Parkinson’s, and expand into neurology-focused specialty pharma,” the CEO explained.
Merz Therapeutics expects the duo of drugs picked up from Acorda to “immediately add topline revenue,” the company explained in a press release.
When Acorda unveiled its asset sale plan earlier this year, the company stressed that treatment continuity for patients already on Inbrija and Ampyra was paramount—and Merz Therapeutics certainly feels the same way.
Patient focus and seamless access have formed the “guiding principles” of the transaction, König stressed, noting that the company kicked off internal efforts to build capabilities and expand for a smooth product handover well before the deal was closed.
Merz Therapeutics has already served its first customer requests for both products, König pointed out.
Meanwile, Merz Therapeutics has taken over the manufacturing contracts for the drugs and purchased a “substantial inventory of both” meds to ensure patients don’t lose access to their therapies in the wake of the acquisition, the CEO said.
Catalent is helping produce Inbrija, while Thermo Fisher’s Patheon and Alkermes are chipping in on manufacturing of Ampyra, König noted.
While Inbrija and Ampyra are effective drugs used by many patients, Acorda had long struggled to make the most of the sales opportunity afforded by the meds.
König pointed out that unlike Merz Therapeutics, which has a global reach, Acorda is a very U.S.-focused company. Merz Therapeutics aims to roll out the newly acquired meds in more than 30 countries over the next few years, König said.
The company boasts 11 affiliates it uses to service patients in many European countries as well as the U.S. and Canada. In addition, Merz Therapeutics either has long-standing joint venture partners or alliances with distribution networks in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, König said.
“We are all set up to commercialize and distribute these products and ensure patient access happens," the CEO said.
As for the hiring plans, the company is doubling the size of its U.S. field team and “significantly” building out its patient access and service capabilities, König said.
As a privately held company, Merz Therapeutics doesn’t disclose precise workforce numbers, König said.
While its Acorda purchase is now done and dusted, Merz Therapeutics is in no way finished when it comes to potential M&A, König said. The company is “keenly interested in acquiring late-stage assets in rare neurology," he explained.
“We have a couple of interesting projects ongoing and very late-stage advanced negotiations, but we continue to be very open to discuss with companies, especially in the later stages of clinical development in rare neurology,” König said.
Currently, Merz Therapeutics is best known for its commercial neurotoxin Xeomin, which is approved in the U.S. in conditions like cervical dystonia, blepharospasm, upper limb spasticity and excessive salivation. The drug rivals AbbVie’s Botox and is also approved to help smooth facial wrinkles.
The German company also boasts a portfolio of established brands in dermatology and hepatology, but it’s Xeomin—the crown jewel of Merz Therapeutics' commercial roster—that has the potential to become a “portfolio within the product,” König said.
For example, König pointed to two recent neurotoxin development programs in neuropathic pain, which started last fall, and migraine, where the company soon plans to kick off a phase 3 study under the auspices of the U.S. FDA.