Jazz Pharmaceuticals has completed its $820 million upfront acquisition of Actio Biosciences, adding the clinical-stage epilepsy program ABS-1230 to its pipeline.
Actio, a privately held biotechnology company, is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Jazz. The companies announced completion of the transaction on Sept. 15.
ABS-1230 is an orally available small-molecule KCNT1 inhibitor in development for KCNT1-related epilepsy. The program is designed to selectively inhibit KCNT1, a target associated with the condition.
In preclinical studies, ABS-1230 inhibited KCNT1 across all evaluable pathogenic mutations, according to Jazz. In an early clinical proof-of-concept study, children with KCNT1-related epilepsy who received ABS-1230 experienced seizure reductions.
The company did not provide numerical efficacy or safety data from the early clinical study.
ABS-1230 has received Fast Track, Rare Pediatric Disease and Orphan Drug Product designations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The program has also been accepted into FDA’s Rare Disease Evidence Principles process.
Jazz completed the acquisition through the merger of its indirect wholly owned subsidiary, Knight Acquisition Corp., with Actio. Knight Acquisition Corp. ceased to exist following the merger, while Actio continues as an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Jazz.
As part of the transaction, Actio separated certain programs not related to ABS-1230 into a new privately held company. That entity is funded by existing Actio investors.
Jazz received a minority stake in the new company and certain related rights. The announcement did not identify the non-ABS-1230 programs transferred to the new entity or disclose the terms of Jazz’s minority stake and related rights.
Jazz said the acquisition adds a program for a rare epilepsy condition to its existing development pipeline.
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