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Brussels-based drugmaker UCB has agreed to acquire Massachusetts-based Ra Pharma for $2.1 billion, according to a joint statement published last week (October 10). The deal, which has been approved by the boards of both companies and is slated to close by the end of the first quarter of 2020, will allow UCB to strengthen its portfolio in treatments for rare diseases in neurology and immunology.
One of Ra’s most advanced therapies is zilucoplan, a peptide inhibitor of a protein known as C5, which has been implicated in the neuromuscular autoimmune disease myasthenia. The condition typically affects young adult women and older men, and is thought to occur in around 14 to 20 people per 100,000 in the United States.
The drug, which is designed to be self-administered once a day, moved into Phase 3 trials for myasthenia earlier this month, with results expected in early 2021. ...
