Forma Therapeutics

2022: Novo Nordisk acquires Forma Therapeutics for $1.1 billion

On September 1, 2022, Novo Nordisk announced the allocation of $1.1 billion for the purchase of Forma Therapeutics, hoping that the assets of the acquired company, which are at the clinical stage, will help create a leading portfolio of drugs for the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCB).

The Danish pharmaceutical giant will acquire all outstanding shares of Forma Therapeutics at a price of $20 apiece - the total value of the shares will be $1.1 billion, according to a release dated September 1, 2022.

Forma Therapeutics Holdings - a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, winner of Fierce's 15,2011 competition - made its market debut in 2020 with a $278 million IPO, the biotech company's fifth-largest IPO in 2022. Genentech veteran Frank Lee runs the company. The company's focus is Etavopivat, a one-time daily selective pyruvate kinase-P activator that is being developed to treat patients with rare hematological diseases such as SCS. This severe, life-threatening disease affects about 17 million people worldwide. The company's main products are Etavopivat, FT-7051, FT-8225 and others.

Etavopivate is an oral drug that has received FDA Fast Track status, a rare pediatric disease and orphan drug. Etavopivate acts by activating an enzyme claimed to allow diseased red blood cells to carry more oxygen, thereby reducing painful attacks caused by diseased cells clumping together and blocking blood flow. The drug is in phase 2/3 clinical trials.

{{quote 'We aim to create a leading portfolio of drugs that includes both separate and combination drugs to combat complications and the main causes of sickle cell disease, "said Ludovic Helfgott, executive vice president and head of rare diseases at Novo Nordisk. }} The deal with Forma is Novo's second major acquisition in 12 months. In November 2021, Novo spent $3.3 billion to acquire Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, a company specializing in RNA drugs.^[1]

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