Shire agrees to buy orphan drug candidate
British drug maker Shire plc, which has nearly 700 employees in Massachusetts, said today it has agreed to pay $135 million to acquire global rights to an orphan drug candidate.
Shire said the enzyme replacement therapy it has agreed to buy from the Danish company Zymenex A/S aims to treat Metachromatic Leukodystrophy, or MLD, a neurological disorder that affects an estimated 2,000 patients in developed world markets; the therapy is currently in clinical trials.
The US Orphan Drug Act rewards companies that develop drugs for rare diseases by giving them seven years to sell each new treatment without competition from other manufacturers.
Sylvie Grégoire (left), president of Shire’s Human Genetic Therapies business in Massachusetts, also known as Shire HGT, said in a statement: "This product fits very well with Shire’s ERT portfolio of treatments for Lysosomal Storage Disorders. Shire HGT has been committed to MLD and by acquiring this mid-stage clinical program we hope to bring a MLD treatment to patients two years earlier than anticipated.”
Shire said recently it plans to move its local offices from Cambridge to Lexington as it looks to double its number of employees in Greater Boston.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)
rising
falling 