October 26, 2020
13:28
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German pharmaceutical giant Bayer acquires American gene therapy pioneer AskBio for $ 4 billion. “This is not my first billion dollar deal, but it is a special one,” says Marianne De Backer, who, as a Belgian Bayer board member, is responsible for takeover deals and partnerships.
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With the acquisition, Bayer is throwing itself into gene therapy, a field of medicine that is on the rise. ‘It is one of the great innovations. It is a must to go in that direction, ‘says De Backer. The Belgian sits on the board of Bayer, is responsible for strategy and business development, and has already negotiated 20 acquisitions and partnerships this year.
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Gene therapy makes it possible to actually cure diseases with targeted DNA interventions, instead of suppressing the disease or treating symptoms.
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Pharmaceutical companies are therefore throwing billions in order not to miss the boat, with Novartis being the highlight that even 7 billion euros left for Avexis. In this way, it achieved a breakthrough treatment for a rare, deadly childhood disease with Z accordma – better known as the Pia drug.
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The purchase price for AskBio could amount to $ 4 billion. Bayer immediately puts 2 billion on the table. Shareholders will receive the remainder as the AskBio survey progresses. ‘A smart takeover’, concludes the UBS stock exchange.
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Genetic Repair Kits
‘With AskBio we don’t just buy a company. We buy Jude Samulski’s life’s work, ‘says De Backer. Samulski is one of the pioneers in gene therapy and has been tinkering with the technology for 30 years. He uses viruses that have been rendered harmless (AAV or adeno-associated virus in the jargon) to deliver repair kits to body cells and to correct defective or missing pieces of DNA on the spot.
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Samulski and co-founder Sheila Mikhail have run the off-exchange company for 20 years. ‘It took a long time, but that is typical of our sector. But what they have ultimately achieved is unbelievable, ‘says De Backer.
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It wouldn’t have happened without AskBio’s technology platform. The treatment that Pfizer is currently testing for Duchenne (muscle) disease comes straight from the company. The same is true for Takeda’s therapy for the blood disease hemophilia.
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Parkinson
AskBio is also developing three therapies of its own, for Pompe disease, a genetic muscle disease, Parkinson’s disease and a type of heart failure. “To maintain AskBio’s spirit, it will continue to operate as a separate business within Bayer,” says De Backer.
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I’ve closed over 200 deals in my career, including multi-billion dollar deals.
Marianne De Backer
Global Head of Strategy and Business Development Bayer
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The acquisition is the largest of 20 deals she has already closed for Bayer this year. She does not want to say whether it is the largest ever. ‘I have already closed more than 200 deals in my career, including several billion deals,’ says De Backer. During her time at Johnson & Johnson, she made a name for herself in Silicon Valley as a deal maker. She was also voted ‘most influential business woman’ in the Bay Area.
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‘But I personally think this deal is unique, because the medical need is so great. There are many diseases with genetic causes that cannot be treated in any other way. In Europe alone there are 25 million patients per year, half of them children, with a disease where the problem lies in one faulty gene, ‘she says.
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“The CEO of AskBio is also a woman, which made the negotiations special,” adds De Backer.
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Six weeks
De Backer, a molecular biologist by training, started her career as a laboratory technician at Janssen Pharmaceutica in Beerse to grow in the parent group J&J for 28 years.
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Last year she moved to Bayer to spot innovation – ‘the lifeblood in our sector’ – elsewhere and to acquire it. ‘You can’t do everything on your own. The speed of innovation is so great. We have set clear lines of where we want to grow: gene therapy, certain areas in oncology and digital medicine. And the whole approach has changed, so that we can switch quickly. That is crucial. People who run a biotech company don’t have a year to negotiate with big pharma. The first call with Askbio’s CEO wasn’t until July 11. And there were barely six weeks between our first offer and the signing. That is fast, ‘says De Backer.
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Belgium is of course also on my radar. We are looking for the best science in the world. Where exactly we find it is completely unimportant
Marianne De Backer
Global Head of Strategy and Business Development Bayer
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Whether Belgium is also on its radar for future deals? Of course. We are looking for the best science in the world. Where exactly we find it is completely unimportant. As a Belgian I of course have a good insight into what is going on in the country, but I cannot speculate about future prey. ‘
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Bayer – which also owns Roundup producer Monsanto – achieved 43.5 billion euros in turnover and more than 4 billion euros in net profit last year. Bayer Pharmaceuticals has a turnover of almost 20 billion euros. Xarelto (blood thinner) and Eylea (eye diseases) are the main blockbusters. With the contraceptive pill Yaz and Yasmin, it is a competitor of the Belgian Mithra.
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