Argenx (ARGX.US) spent $2.2 billion to acquire Forte Biosciences (FBRX.US) at a 40% premium to expand the immunology drug portfolio

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Dutch biotech company Argenx SE (ARGX.US) agreed to acquire clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Forte Biosciences (FBRX.US) with about US$2.2 billion in cash to expand its immunological drug product portfolio. Argenx said on Monday that it will buy Dallas-based Forte Biosciences for $77 per share, an offer that represents a 40% premium over the latter's closing price last Friday. Argenx said both companies' boards of directors have approved the deal. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to customary transaction conditions.

Argenx is seeking to expand its immunology business, which previously relied heavily on its heavyweight drug, Vyvgart. The drug has been approved to treat various autoimmune diseases. Currently, demand is still strong, and supports the company's second-quarter results better than expected. In December of last year, as Argenx stopped late-stage clinical trials using Vyvgart to treat patients with eye diseases, the company's stock price fell for a while. However, in the past 12 months, Argenx's stock price has accumulated a cumulative increase of more than 57%, while Forte's share price has increased more than 4 times during the same period.

Through this acquisition, Argenx will acquire Forte Biosciences' core pipeline FB102. This is the world's first CD122 antibody and has shown early potential in treating vitiligo and celiac disease. According to reports, FB102 blocks the activation of IL-2 and IL-15 on T cells and NK cells (medium to low affinity) in the form of antibodies, and preserves the binding of TreG cells to IL-2 (high affinity), thereby exerting the effect of treating autoimmune diseases.

FB102's indications for celiac disease (Celiac Disease) have advanced to phase II clinical stage. Phase 1b clinical trials for vitiligo have shown clear signs of efficacy. The study included 43 patients who were randomly grouped 3:1 (FB102 group vs. placebo group). Subjects were treated for 12 weeks and followed up to week 24 to assess the durability of the effects. Data released earlier this month showed an average improvement of 29.6% in the area of leukoplakia on the face compared to the baseline, which is statistically significant. The effect was more pronounced in patients with severe conditions (defined as an F-VASI-score of at least 0.75). In week 24, F-VASI improved by an average of 43.2%. Among them, 58.8% of patients had leukoplakia reduced by more than half (F-VASI50), and 23.5% reached F-VASI75.

After patients completed the 12-week treatment period, improvements in their condition were observed starting on day 64, and this improvement continued until week 24. Most FB102 subjects continued to progress after 12 weeks of administration; from week 12 to week 24, the average F-VASI improvement in the overall population increased by an additional 8 percentage points; for patients with a baseline F-VASI score of at least 0.75, the improvement rate increased by another 14 percentage points during the same period. Of the patients treated with FB102, 84% improved, and none worsened. Meanwhile, 27% of patients in the placebo group worsened their condition. The overall safety of FB102 was good. Adverse events were mainly mild to moderate, comparable to the placebo group.