Shire to pay nearly $500 million to expand rare diseases pipeline in deal with Acceleron Pharma

Ireland-headquartered drugmaker Shire (LSE: SHP) plans to expand its human genetic therapies pipeline through an exclusive license, in markets outside North America, for the activin receptor type IIB (ActRIIB) class of molecules being developed by Acceleron Pharma, a private biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, which could earn the latter firm nearly $500 million over the course of the collaboration.

Under the terms of the agreement, Shire will make an upfront payment of $45 million to Acceleron, which is also eligible to receive additional development, regulatory and sales milestone payments of up to $165 million for the successful commercialization of ACE-031 in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), up to an additional $288 million for successful commercialization of other indications and molecules, and royalties on product sales.

Shire’s earnings guideline unchanged