Akcea Therapeutics and Ionis Pharmaceuticals announced the closing of the exclusive licensing agreement with Pfizer for AKCEA-ANGPTL3-LRx following expiration of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act).
AKCEA-ANGPTL3-LRx is an investigational antisense therapy discovered by Ionis and being developed to treat patients with certain cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. As previously announced, under terms of the agreement Akcea and Ionis will receive a $250 million upfront license fee, which will be split equally between the two companies. Akcea will settle its $125 million obligation to Ionis in Akcea common stock. Additional details about the agreement can be found in Akcea’s Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 8, 2019.