LogicBio Therapeutics, today announced it is being acquired by Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease. Lexington, Massachusetts-based LogicBio is a clinical-stage genetic medicine company pioneering genome editing and gene delivery platforms to address rare and serious diseases from infancy through adulthood.
The company’s lead candidate is a gene editing product (LB-001) for methylmalonic acidemia (MMA) that is currently in clinical trials. Preclinical results for the product were recently published in PLOS ONE. LogicBio has several other gene editing products in early development as well as two gene therapies—for Fabry and Pompe diseases.
Fred Chereau, president and chief executive officer, LogicBio, said, “We are excited about the opportunity to bring our science and expertise in genetic medicine to Alexion, which shares our commitment to discovering treatments for rare conditions and improving the lives of patients. Through this acquisition, we strive to accelerate our research in gene editing and AAV capsid development and together move the field of genomic medicine forward.”
LogicBio has developed technology platforms for the delivery and insertion of genes to address genetic diseases, as well as a platform designed to improve viral vector manufacturing processes.
The company’s genome editing platform, GeneRide, is a new approach to precise gene insertion harnessing a cell’s natural DNA repair process potentially leading to durable therapeutic protein expression levels. It’s gene delivery platform, sAAVy, is an adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid engineering platform designed to optimize gene delivery for treatments in a broad range of indications and tissues. Finally, the company’s proprietary manufacturing process, mAAVRx aims to overcome one of the current limitations of AAV manufacturing by improving yields and product quality.
“The proposed acquisition of LogicBio is a significant development for our growing research in genomic medicine,” said Marc Dunoyer, chief executive officer, Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease. “LogicBio’s people, experience and platforms provide new scientific capabilities by adding best-in-class technology and expertise to our genomic medicine strategy. The scientific collaboration between Alexion and AstraZeneca has been a substantial area of focus since last year’s acquisition and the addition of LogicBio will expand this foundational work.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Alexion, through a subsidiary, will initiate a cash tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of LogicBio for $2.07 per share. Both boards have unanimously approved the transaction. Alexion plans to close the deal in four to six weeks, subject to the tender of at least a majority of the outstanding shares of LogicBio common stock and satisfaction of other closing conditions, and plans to retain LogicBio employees at their current location.
Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease, is the group within AstraZeneca focused on rare diseases, created following the 2021 acquisition of Alexion Pharmaceuticals. A leader in rare diseases for nearly 30 years, Alexion is focused on serving patients and families affected by rare diseases and devastating conditions through the discovery, development and commercialization of life-changing medicines.
The company’s research efforts are in novel molecules and targets in the complement cascade and its development efforts focus on hematology, nephrology, neurology, metabolic disorders, cardiology and ophthalmology. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Alexion has offices around the globe and serves patients in more than 50 countries.
