Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
The Akcea rare-disease commercialization bet collapsed within a year of full buyout — Ionis gutted 70% of the acquired workforce and outsourced the flagship product line it had just paid to bring in-house.
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Three Akcea executives including the CEO depart in a 'disconcerting surprise' as Tegsedi launch underperforms expectations and the company struggles against…
Ionis reels its spinoff Akcea back in after disappointing commercial execution on Tegsedi and Waylivra, effectively unwinding the 2018 partnership structure.
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Ionis licensed worldwide rights to Akcea for inotersen (Tegsedi) and follow-on AKCEA-TTR-LRx in March 2018. Akcea paid $150M upfront in stock plus Ionis purchased $200M of Akcea common stock; total deal up to $1.7B including $1.3B in commercial milestones. Profit-sharing 60/40 in Ionis's favor for inotersen, transitioning to 50/50 after AKCEA-TTR-LRx launch.
The Akcea rare-disease commercialization bet collapsed within a year of full buyout — Ionis gutted 70% of the acquired workforce and outsourced the flagship product line it had just paid to bring in-house.
Assessment window: 5yr post-close.
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akcea Therapeutics, Inc. / Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (this deal) | 2018 | $1.7B | 27 |
| Pfizer Inc. / FoldRx Pharmaceuticals | 2010 | — | 99 |
| Abbott Laboratories / Knoll Pharmaceuticals (BASF Pharma) | 2000 | $6.9B | 95 |
| Astra AB / Zeneca Group plc | 1998 | $35.0B | 94 |
| Merck & Co. Inc. / Acceleron Pharma Inc. | 2021 | $11.5B | 90 |
| Johnson & Johnson / Actelion Ltd | 2017 | $30.0B | 90 |
| Eli Lilly and Company / Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH | 2011 | $444M | 89 |
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