Merck's acquisition of Afferent Pharma provides platform into IPF market, says analyst

US pharma giant Merck & Co’s (NYSE: MRK) acquisition of privately held company Afferent Pharmaceuticals will provide it with an entry-platform into the fast-growing idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) market, which is forecast to reach $3.2 billion by 2025.

According to an analyst with research and consulting firm GlobalData, the agreement terms state that Merck, through a subsidiary, will acquire all outstanding stock of Afferent in exchange for a payment of $500 million in cash up front. The company will acquire Afferent’s lead candidate, AF-219, a selective, non-narcotic, orally-administered P2X3 antagonist, which is currently in Phase II trials in IPF patients with persistent cough.

Matthew Thaxter, GlobalData’s analyst covering immunology, explains: “At the 2016 American Thoracic Society’s annual conference in May, Afferent presented data from its Phase IIb chronic cough study that showed treatment with AF-219 significantly reduced cough frequency at all doses. Afferent also states that 73%-86% of IPF patients suffer from chronic cough, and the two currently approved IPF treatments – Genentech’s Esbriet (pirfenidone) and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Ofev (nintedanib) – do not alleviate any disease-associated symptoms.”