Bioverativ buys San Francisco-based True North Therapeutics

Bioverativ has acquired South San Francisco-based True North Therapeutics, a privately-held, clinical-stage rare disease biotechnology company, for an upfront payment of $400 million plus assumed cash.

Bioverativ said that True North investors are also eligible to receive additional payments of up to $425 million contingent on the achievement of future development, regulatory and sales milestones.

As part of the acquisition, Bioverativ will obtain worldwide rights to True North Therapeutics’ lead candidate, TNT009, a first-in-class monoclonal antibody in development to treat cold agglutinin disease (CAD).

CAD is a rare and chronic haemolytic condition that often leads to severe anaemia, requiring numerous transfusions, and can result in life-threatening thrombotic events. There are no approved therapies for CAD, which occurs in approximately 16 people per million globally, including an estimated 5,000 people in the United States.

TNT009 was created using Abzena’s Composite Human Antibody technology and falls within the Abzena Inside portfolio of products being developed by Abzena’s partners, Abzena said in its press release.

John Cox, Chief Executive Officer of Bioverativ commented: “This acquisition of True North is aligned with those goals and with our vision to become the leading rare disease company focused on blood disorders. It strengthens our pipeline with a potential first-in-class therapy to treat CAD, a rare blood disorder with a high unmet patient need.”