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Clinigen raids Horizon Pharma as it adds another drug to its medicine cabinet

Last updated: 05:10 25 Jul 2018 EDT, First published: 03:10 25 Jul 2018 EDT

hospital ward
Clinigen didn’t disclose how much it was paying Horizon for Imukin

Clinigen Group PLC (LON:CLIN) has made its second acquisition in as many weeks, buying the global rights to Imukin from Horizon Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:HZNP) for an undisclosed sum.

Imukin is licensed in 19 countries to help boost the immune system of patients with chronic granulomatous disease and for the treatment of a bone disease called severe malignant osteopetrosis. Both of those conditions are hereditary and considered to be rare.

The deal will see Horizon retain the rights to the drug in the US, Canada and Japan.

READ: Clinigen acquires ex-US rights to Proleukin from Novartis

Clinigen plans to “revitalise” Imukin by working with healthcare professionals to make sure its benefits to patients are well understood.

The £1bn pharma group will also make the medicine available to those who need it through its global distribution network for both licensed and unlicensed supply.

“Imukin strengthens our commercial offering and represents a good strategic fit with our medicines portfolio growth strategy focused on products in oncology and rare diseases,” said chief executive Shaun Chilton.

Earlier this month, Clinigen acquired the rights outside the US to Proleukin for an undisclosed sum from Novartis.

The drug is used to treat the metastatic forms of renal cell carcinoma and melanoma and, like Imukin, the plan is to work with the healthcare professionals to revitalise the product.

Imukin ‘a good fit’, says City broker

“Imukin [is] another mature niche hospital product that appears an excellent fit alongside the existing portfolio, adding a seventh global product, the second (difficult to copy) biologic and first in rare diseases, sitting well alongside its five oncology products and Foscavir,” wrote Numis analyst Stefan Hamill in a note to clients.

“This further highlights the scalability of Clinigen's product business and leverage potential of its platform, which we see at a good value relative to other UK Pharma growth platforms.”

Hamill has the stock as a ‘buy’ with a price target of 1,208p.

Shares were broadly at 959.5p on Wednesday morning.

--Updates for broker comment and share price--

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