US-based Baxter International has acquired German biopharmaceutical firm SuppreMol for around €200m ($225m).
SuppreMol develops treatment options for autoimmune and allergic diseases.
Baxter BioScience president Ludwig Hantson said: "SuppreMol’s portfolio of novel investigational treatments complements and builds upon our leading and differentiated immunology portfolio, offering the opportunity to expand into new areas with significant market potential and unmet medical needs in autoimmune diseases."
Under the deal, Baxter has acquired SuppreMol’s early stage development portfolio of biologic immunoregulatory therapeutics to treat autoimmune diseases.
The product portfolio focuses on the modulation of Fc receptor signaling pathways, an immune target that is expected to have a wide range of applications in autoimmune disorders.
The company will continue to operate SuppreMol’s operations in Munich, in addition to the portfolio.SuppreMol’s pipeline comprises lead candidate SM101, an investigational immunoregulatory treatment that completed Phase IIa studies in idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura(ITP, a disorder causing low platelet levels) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, a disorder in which the immune system attacks healthy tissue).
The trial’s data demonstrated a dose response in multiple endpoints among patients with SLE treated with either one of two different doses of SM101 for six months, according to Baxter.
In addition, the pipeline includes technologies with potential therapeutic applications in other autoimmune diseases and IgE-mediated allergic diseases.
SuppreMol CEO Dr Klaus Schollmeier said: "Working with Baxter, a global immunology leader, is the ideal setting for SuppreMol’s promising therapeutic projects to deliver on our most ambitious goal to treat important autoimmune diseases and severe allergies."
Image: Baxter building in Vienna. Photo: courtesy of Gerd Fahrenhorst.
