AzurRx to acquire First Wave Bio for $229m

US-based biopharmaceutical firm AzurRx BioPharma has agreed to acquire clinical-stage biotechnology company First Wave Bio in a stock-and-cash deal valued at $229m.

First Wave Bio is focussing on the development of gut-targeted, small molecule therapies for auto-immune inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) as well as other serious conditions.

Under the terms of the definitive agreement signed by the companies, AzurRx will wholly own all rights of First Wave Bio’s formulations of niclosamide and will have sole ownership of its intellectual property (IP) portfolio.

The portfolio covers procedure and delivery of niclosamide formulations to treat several auto-immune, inflammatory and viral conditions.

Niclosamide is an oral small molecule drug with anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties that are designed to address multiple gastrointestinal (GI) disease conditions.

AzurRx will also add three new clinical IBD indications in ulcerative proctitis (UP) and ulcerative proctosigmoiditis (UPS), ulcerative colitis (UC), and Crohn’s disease (CD) to its internal development pipeline through the deal.

Upon completion of the acquisition, the company will change its corporate name to First Wave BioPharma.

AzurRx chairman, president, and CEO James Sapirstein said: “The acquisition of First Wave Bio, and the creation of First Wave BioPharma, Inc. is a transformative event that significantly expands our GI development pipeline and positions our company for new growth opportunities in the inflammatory bowel disease therapeutic space.

“Our portfolio now includes new indications for several IBDs that represent multi-billion dollar commercial market opportunities.

“In the U.S. last year, it is estimated that there were more than 850,000 ulcerative colitis diagnoses and 625,000 Crohn’s disease diagnoses, and these patient populations and markets are expected to grow substantially over the next decade.

“We believe that our proprietary formulations of niclosamide, with their novel anti-inflammatory mechanism of action, non-systemic absorption, and safety benefits, will enable us to address significant unmet clinical needs for IBD patients, especially in the mild-to-moderate disease categories.”

The company has licensed the exclusive global rights from First Wave to develop two niclosamide therapeutic indications in January this year. One is for COVID-19-related GI infections and colitis and the other is for immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated colitis and diarrhea (ICI-AC) in advanced stage cancer patients