Akarna Therapeutics Ltd., a privately held biopharmaceutical company, has been acquired by Allergan plc. Allergan obtains rights to AKN-083, Akarna’s lead product candidate for the potential treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and other liver diseases.
Under the terms of the agreement, Allergan acquired Akarna for an upfront cash payment of $50 million and success-based development, regulatory and sales milestones.
“We are excited to be working with Allergan, a company that shares our vision of developing best-in-class treatments for NASH,” stated Dr. Raju Mohan, Chief Executive Officer of Akarna. “Allergan shares our commitment to help patients with NASH live longer, healthier lives.”
Akarna’s investors include New Science Ventures, LLC, a New York-based venture capital firm; Third Point Ventures, the emerging technology investment arm of Third Point LLC; and Forbion Capital Partners, a life sciences venture capital firm with offices in The Netherlands and Germany. Moelis & Company LLC acted as financial advisor to Akarna. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati LLP acted as legal counsel to Akarna.