GSK buys Sirtris

“The Tan Sheet” Apr. 28, 2008, Vol. 16, No. 017
News in Brief / Word Count: 178 / Article # 05160170016_b

Executive Summary

GlaxoSmithKline will acquire Sirtris Pharmaceuticals for approximately $720 million through a cash tender offer of $22.50 per share, which is an 84 percent premium on Sirtris' closing price April 22 - the day the deal was announced. GSK says the acquisition will "significantly enhance its metabolic, neurology, immunology and inflammation research efforts by establishing a presence in the field of sirtuins," a seven-member family of proteins long thought to play a role in the aging process, with "potentially transformative" benefits addressing diseases such as diabetes, muscle wasting and neuron-degeneration. Sirtris' lead compound, the resveratrol formulation SRT501, "significantly" lowered glucose in an oral glucose tolerance test conducted as part of a 28-day Phase 1b clinical study in type 2 diabetes patients, the firm said in January (1"The Tan Sheet" Jan. 14. 2008, In Brief). Sirtris will become part of GSK's Drug Discovery division while operating in Cambridge, Mass., as an autonomous unit. The deal is subject to closing conditions, but the firms expect the tender offer to commence in May and close in the second quarter of 2008...