Alfasigma to Acquire Intercept, Expanding the Global Footprint in Liver Diseases

Rare Daily Staff

Italian pharmaceutical company Alfasigma is acquiring Intercept Pharmaceuticals, which is focused on therapeutics for rare and serious liver diseases, expanding Alfasigma’s gastrointestinal and hepatology portfolio and its presence in the U.S. market.

“The acquisition of Intercept marks another important milestone in Alfasigma’s growth path, particularly with regard to the U.S. market in which we have significant development objectives,” said Francesco Balestrieri, CEO of Alfasigma. “Intercept represents a compelling fit with Alfasigma’s core business areas of gastroenterology and hepatology, and we believe that the transaction represents a transformational opportunity for both companies.”

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Alfasigma will commence a cash tender offer to acquire all issued and outstanding shares of Intercept common stock for $19.00 per share in cash, or about $850 million. The purchase price represents a premium of 82 percent to Intercept’s closing stock price on September 25, 2023.

The transaction will be fully financed by Alfasigma’s existing cash on hand and existing corporate credit facilities. The members of the  board of directors of Intercept participating in the decision have unanimously approved the transaction., which is expected to close by the end of 2023.

Intercept’s lead medicine is Ocaliva, a farnesoid X receptor agonist approved in the United States and several other jurisdictions for the treatment of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) in combination with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in adults with an inadequate response to UDCA, or as monotherapy in adults unable to tolerate UDCA.

Ocaliva is the only approved second-line therapy for PBC and has experienced double-digit year-over-year growth supported by an experienced specialty sales force and strong prescriber base. Intercept also benefits from a broader clinical development pipeline anchored by a novel fixed-dose combination of obeticholic acid and bezafibrate in phase 2 trials for PBC.