Acetylon snags $100 million upfront cash and acquisition option

Privately-held Acetylon and US biotech firm Celgene (Nasdaq: CELG) have entered into an exclusive strategic collaboration for Acetylon’s pipeline of selective histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors with $100 million cash upfront and a time-bound option for Celgene to acquire Acetylon.

Last year, Celgene already invested some $15 million in Acetylon shares, when it noted the potential synergistic combination of Celgene’s class-leading myeloma drug, Revlimid (lenalidomide), with Acetylon’s selective HDAC6 inhibitor, ACY-1215, in clinical trials is an exciting prospect for the treatment of patients with progressive disease. (The Pharma Letter February 12, 2012). Celgene’s deal with Acetylon is its eighth with a Boston-area biotech in the last two years. Last year Celgene nabbed US biotech firm Avila Therapeutics, which was in early clinical trials for a BTK inhibitor, for $350 million upfront and up to $575 million in future payments (TPL January 27, 2012).

The new collaboration will focus on the continued clinical advancement of Acetylon’s lead candidate, ACY-1215, an oral first-in-class selective HDAC6 inhibitor being developed for hematological malignancies, ACY-738 for neurological diseases, an HDAC1/2 inhibitor, and a yet unnamed project, spanning cancer and non-cancer disease indications.