A 'life's work' that has created an 'IND machine' – what attracted Bayer to AskBio

German drugmaker Bayer (BAYN: DE) has generally preferred in-licensing deals and other collaborations to multi-billion dollar acquisitions, so executives must have been highly impressed by what they saw of Asklepios BioPharmaceutical (AskBio) to spend $2 billion upfront on buying the US biotech, along with up to $2 billion more depending on certain milestones.

It is easy to see what attracted Bayer to AskBio. Its adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapy platform is already yielding commercial and clinical stage assets and its portfolio includes investigational pre-clinical and clinical stage development candidates for the treatment of neuromuscular, central nervous system, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases such as therapeutics for Pompe disease, Parkinson’s disease and congestive heart failure, as well as out-licensed clinical candidates for hemophilia and Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

"We were talking to people who had lived this space"But an acquisition like this also had to be a good fit for Bayer’s broader strategy to be a leader in cell and gene therapies, the industry’s next wave of innovation following on from small molecules and biologics, explained Marianne De Backer, head of Pharmaceuticals Business Development and Licensing, and member of the executive committee.