Idorsia sells APAC businesses to Sosei Heptares for $466 million

The acquisition deal gives Sosei Heptares the license to market clazosentan (Pivlaz), which is approved in Japan for the treatment of cerebral vasospasm, in the Asia Pacific region (APAC) excluding China. In the same zone, Sosei Heptares can also develop and commercialize daridorexant, an insomnia treatment in phase 3 development in Japan and marketed in the U.S. and Europe as Quviviq.

In addition, Sosei Heptares has the option to pay further fees to develop Idorsia’s phase 3-stage treatments cenerimod and lucerastat in the APAC territory. The Japanese company also has rights on up to five other clinical-stage programs in Idorsia’s pipeline.

“The Japan pharmaceutical market, given its size, large ageing population and attractive high quality clinical development and regulatory environment is the key next step for Sosei Heptares’ growth ambitions,” said Chris Cargill, president & CEO of Sosei Heptares in a public release​.

“The businesses we are acquiring are highly complementary to our existing UK and Japan operations and provide exciting opportunities and optionality to develop and commercialize our own portfolio, as well as partnered and future in-licensed products in Japan.”

As part of the deal, Idorsia will supply Sosei Heptares with Pivlaz and daridorexant and will make additional transition service agreements (TSAs) to cover regulatory, clinical, manufacturing and IT transfers.

Sosei Heptares sees the purchase as a cash flow-positive move and financed it with existing cash and a “new long-term, low-rate corporate loan,” according to the company announcement.

Sosei Heptares also sees the deal boosting its mission to tap into the growing Japan market by beefing up its clinical development and commercial muscle, bringing in skilled personnel and expanding its reach across the APAC region.

Pivlaz is designed to treat cerebral vasospasm and similar conditions by blocking a protein called endothelin A (ETA) receptor. It was approved in Japan in early 2022 but hopes to get the drug approved in other regions was hit with a setback earlier this year: the drug showed no benefits​ in a phase 3 trial for the treatment of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Daridorexant, meanwhile, is already sold in the U.S. and Europe and showed promising phase 3 results in Japanese patients with insomnia in October 2022. The drug is designed to block proteins called orexin receptors and reduce wakefulness in insomnia sufferers.

Idorsia first announced a prospective takeover deal of its APAC units earlier this year. This came as payer coverage of Quviviq came more slowly than expected in the U.S. and Idorsia looked to extend its cash runway.

In June 2023, Idorsia had secured CHF 75 million ($87.41 million) to stay financed until the end of July as it negotiated with Sosei Heptares. Idorsia is due to provide updated financial results on July 25th following the latest deal with Sosei Heptares.