PTC Therapeutics Inc. has acquired Censa Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical developer in Wellesley, Massachusetts, the South Plainfield-based biopharmaceutical company announced on Wednesday.
Under terms of the merger, PTC will pay $10 million in cash and up to 850,000 shares of common stock. In addition, future consideration includes $217.5 million in development and regulatory milestones.
Censa Pharmaceuticals is focused on the development of CNSA-001, an investigational therapy for orphan metabolic diseases.
“We believe that CNSA-001 has the potential to address the majority of PKU (a rare genetic disorder) patients whose condition is not adequately managed by current treatments. We look forward to initiating a Phase 3 study in PKU so that patients diagnosed with this devastating condition can have a new oral treatment option as soon as possible,” Stuart W. Peltz, CEO of PTC, said.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2020. Under it, PTC will not be required to hire Censa workers.
“I am proud of the team at Censa and its achievements to date demonstrating the potential role of CNSA-001 in treating diseases of the BH4 pathway,” Jonathan Reis, CEO and president, Censa Pharmaceuticals, said. “It is the right time to have an excellent fully integrated, patient-focused biotechnology organization like PTC Therapeutics take over the late-stage development of CNSA-001 so that this promising compound becomes available to patients in the near future.”
