Rare Daily Staff
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical and Dimension Therapeutics said that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Ultragenyx will acquire Dimension for $6.00 per share, or approximately $151 million in cash.
The agreement comes after Dimension announced at the end of August that it had entered into a merger agreement with RegenxBio. The board of Dimension seized upon the Ultragenyx bid as superior and terminated plans to consummate the RegenxBio deal. Ultragenyx will pay a merger termination fee of $2.85 million RegenxBio as a result.
The deal brings a pipeline of early-stage gene therapy candidates to Ultragenyx, as well as Dimension’s gene therapy platform. For Dimension, the agreement brings expertise in rare disease therapeutic development and resources to accelerate development and commercialization of its therapeutic candidates.
Ultragenyx said it plans to maintain a gene therapy research and development unit, as well as a manufacturing team at Dimension’s facilities in Massachusetts. It said it will retain the team’s significant gene therapy knowledge to efficiently progress critical manufacturing development.
“The acquisition of Dimension provides a unique opportunity to approach treatment of more rare diseases and advance our development as a next-generation rare disease company,” said Emil Kakkis, president and CEO of Ultragenyx. “We look forward to leveraging our development and commercial skills in combination with Dimension’s gene therapy technology, programs, and people to accelerate the process of expanding treatment options and bringing important new therapies to market for patients.”
October 3, 2017
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