Pharma BD Deal Intelligence

Incyte Corporation / Escient Pharmaceuticals Inc.

2024 · Acquisition/Merger · $750M · Complete

Outcome grade pending — assessed 5 years post-close.

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The coverage arc

Apr 23, 2024 BioPharma Dive Bullish

Incyte will pay $750 million to acquire Escient Pharmaceuticals, bringing aboard two experimental oral drugs aimed at mast-cell-driven inflammatory disease.…

Apr 23, 2024 Reuters Neutral

Incyte said on Tuesday it would buy privately held Escient Pharmaceuticals in an all-cash deal valued at $750 million to add two experimental treatments for…

Apr 24, 2024 Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News Bullish

Incyte announced plans to acquire Escient Pharmaceuticals for $750 million plus net cash at close, gaining two first-in-class oral Mas-related…

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Incyte (Nasdaq: INCY) acquired Escient Pharmaceuticals for $750 million plus Escient's net cash at close, announced April 23, 2024 and completed May 30, 2024. The deal brought Incyte two first-in-class oral Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor (MRGPR) antagonists: EP262 (MRGPRX2; INCB000262) for chronic urticaria and atopic dermatitis, and EP547 (MRGPRX4; INCB000547) for cholestatic and uremic pruritus -- anchoring Incyte's Inflammation & Autoimmunity pipeline. POST-CLOSE OUTCOME: on November 18, 2024, roughly six months after closing, Incyte announced both acquired lead programs had stalled. It discontinued EP547/MRGPRX4 in cholestatic pruritus after Phase 2 data did not support further development (an efficacy failure), and paused enrollment in the Phase 2 CALM-CSU study of EP262/MRGPRX2 in chronic spontaneous urticaria following in vivo preclinical toxicology findings, electing to work with the FDA on next steps while data from completed proof-of-concept studies and potential back-up molecules inform future development. The $750M outlay was upfront cash, so the impairment of both dealt-for assets materially weakened the near-term value of the acquisition.

Key facts

Related deals — scored

DealYearValueOutcome
Incyte Corporation / Escient Pharmaceuticals Inc. (this deal)2024$750M
Incyte Corporation / MacroGenics, Inc.2017$900M69
Incyte Corporation / Vega Therapeutics, Inc.2026$2.0B68
Incyte Corporation / Merus N.V.2017$3.0B35
Incyte Corporation / Genesis Molecular AI, Inc.2026$1.0B
Incyte Corporation / Calithera Biosciences, Inc.2017$803M
Ciba-Geigy AG / Sandoz AG1996$36.3B98

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