As lead drug flopped and AbbVie collab dissolved, cancer biotech resorts to buying rare disease company
Ever since disappointing late-stage data on its cancer drug tanked Idera Pharmaceuticals’ stock last year (unhelped by an ill-fated collaboration with AbbVie), execs have been tightening the belt while searching for something — anything — that may dig the company out of its hole.
More than a year later, they finally found it.
In an acquisition that is reminiscent of a reverse merger, Idera is buying private biotech Aceragen in an all-stock deal. Instead of cancer, Idera will now be focused on rare, orphan pulmonary and rheumatic diseases. Specifically, it’s placing its hopes on ACG-701 in cystic fibrosis and melioidosis, and ACG-801 in Farber disease.
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