Noticia del Sector Sanitario

Shire (Nasdaq: SHPG), an Ireland-based biopharmaceutical company focused on rare diseases that has a U.S. headquarters in Lexington, announced in November that it would acquire Burlington-based Dyax (Nasdaq: DYAX) for $5.9 billion. The deal was finalized on last week, but when contacted for this story, the company declined to say what will happen with Dyax’s site in Burlington, which is less than 7 miles away from Shire’s Lexington facility.

“We cannot comment on specific plans at this time; however we will continue to assess the organization and resources as we commence integration planning,” a Shire spokesman said in an emailed statement.
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While the site planning is still unclear, Shire sounded positive about Dyax’s 140 employees, but also declined to say whether it plans to lay any off.

“We have been impressed by the talented employees at Dyax and look forward to officially welcoming them to Shire,” a Shire spokesman said when asked if there would be layoffs at Dyax.

Dyax already has a drug called Kalbitor that can treat attacks of hereditary angiodema, a disease characterized by severe and painful swelling of the extremities, gastrointestinal tract, genitalia and larynx. The condition affects approximately one in every 50,000 people.

Dyax was also in the midst of a Phase 3 trial of a drug to prevent the attacks, which, if approved, could generate sales of $2 billion annually up through 2030. In a Phase 1B trial of 37 patients, patients saw an 88-100 percent reduction in the number of attacks of HAE over the course of four months when taking the highest dose of the drug compared with those on a placebo.

Shire already has two drugs to treat hereditary angioedema, Firazyr and Cinryze, but the acquisition would position the company to grow even further in that market.

The acquisition is only the latest for Shire, which made a bid for Baxalta (NYSE: BXLT) for $30 billion in August.