Some further detail on the strategic approach taken by antisense drug company, Ionis...
In 2015, Ionis set up Akcea Therapeutics, a wholly owned subsidiary intended to commercialize four Ionis drug candidates for treating diseases caused by lipid disorders. Two years later, Akcea was spun off as a separate, publicly traded company. Around $150m was raised – approximately two thirds of that from the IPO and one third as a private placement to partner Novartis.
Akcea took over ownership of four drugs developed by Ionis and was to have access to Ionis technology and resources (for a price). At the time of IPO, the lead drug candidate was about to be submitted for regulatory approval and the other three drugs, two of which were partnered with Novartis, were in Phase 2 trials.
The justification given for the decision to spin off was that the commercialization of Akcea’s drugs would require up to a quarter of Ionis’ total workforce, all for one tenth of the pipeline.
But the spin off also opened up the possibility of raising additional capital with less dilution to Ionis shareholders, as well as the freedom to acquire more drugs.
In 2018, Ionis and Akcea entered a licensing deal worth a potential US$1.7bn, by which Ionis licensed one of its drugs at regulatory approval stage to Akcea and increased its stake in Akcea to 75%.
Both Ionis (IONS) and Akcea (ACKR) are NASDAQ listed. Ionis market cap is ~ US$8.2 bn and Akcea US$1.4bn.
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