GlaxoSmithKline has denied reports that they were interested in acquiring Canada’s Aurinia Pharmaceuticals. The UK’s Mail issued a statement on Sunday, October 31, claiming the UK-based pharma giant was preparing to bid on Aurinia. A GSK spokesperson told Reuters the report was not true.
On October 22, Bloomberg News claimed that U.S.-based Bristol Myers Squibb was interested in buying Aurinia. This caused Aurinia stock to pop by almost 27%. It has been up nearly 50% since, giving the company a market value of approximately $4.2 billion.
Aurinia focuses on autoimmune diseases. Today they announced updated interim data from the AURORA 2 continuation study of Lupkynis (voclosporin) for lupus nephritis (LN) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). They plan to present the data on November 8 during Plenary Session III at The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Convergence 2021.
Lupkynis is the first drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of lupus nephritis. It is also the first drug of Aurinia’s to be approved. It is expected to hit $1 billion in sales, the so-called blockbuster bar, by mid-decade. Currently, the only competition for the drug is GlaxoSmithKline’s Benlysta, which is an injectable biologic. That would certainly be a reason for GSK to be interested, particularly since the patents on Benlysta will expire in a few years.
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In today’s interim analysis, patients receiving Lupkynis maintained meaningful decreases in proteinuria. An estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), an essential measurement of kidney function, stayed stable through month 30.
“In this updated interim analysis, reductions in proteinuria were sustained with no impact on renal function at a total of 30 months of treatment with voclosporin,” said Amit Saxena, assistant professor, department of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and presenting author of the AURORA 2 study. “The consistent outcomes over time reinforce confidence in Lupkynis as an important treatment choice for people experiencing the dangerous manifestation of lupus nephritis.”
In addition to Lupkynis, in August, Aurinia acquired two new drugs for its pipeline. The first, AUR200, was picked up by buying all the common stock of Thunderbolt Pharma. AUR200 is a recombinant Fc fusion protein that specifically blocks B-cell Activating Factor (BAFF) and A Proliferation-Inducing Ligand (APRIL). These two molecules promote B cell survival and differentiation and are associated with certain autoimmune and nephrology diseases.
Aurinia made an upfront payment of $750,000 (US) for the drug and will be responsible for future regulatory milestones once the FDA accepts its investigational new drug (IND) submission or any equivalent regulator. Thunderbolt shareholders will be eligible for low single-digit royalties on any future sales.
The second drug is AUR300, which is picked up via a global licensing and research deal with Riptide Bioscience. AUR300 is a novel peptide that modulates M2 macrophages, a type of immune cell, by way of the macrophage mannose receptor CD206. M2 macrophage dysregulation drives fibrosis and AUR 300 would seem to decrease this dysregulation and inflammatory cytokines.
Rob Huizinga, Aurinia’s executive vice president of Research, said at the time, “Both of these programs are rooted in strong science and at the leading edge of approaches for the treatment of autoimmune, fibrotic, and kidney diseases. Significant research has been done to date in both BAFF/APRIL inhibition and macrophage modulation and we are confident both approaches offer high potential across multiple autoimmune diseases as we advance them into the clinic.”
GSK and BMS aren’t the only companies rumored to be interested in Aurinia. Both Switzerland’s Roche and Japan’s Otsuka Pharmaceutical are on the list of possible suitors.
Source: Biospace
