Ipsen agreed to acquire Swiss biotech Memo Therapeutics AG on Wednesday for an upfront payment of 200 million euros, with additional milestone-based payments that could bring the total above 700 million euros, or roughly $800 million.
The French drugmaker will pay 200 million euros upfront for Memo, whose lead drug targets a kidney transplant infection with no approved treatments
DIMITAR DILKOFF / Getty Images
Ipsen agreed to acquire Swiss biotech Memo Therapeutics AG on Wednesday for an upfront payment of 200 million euros, with additional milestone-based payments that could bring the total above 700 million euros, or roughly $800 million.
The deal centers on potravitug, a Phase II monoclonal antibody targeting BK polyomavirus-associated nephropathy, a complication in kidney transplant patients that can lead to graft loss and transplant failure, the company said. There are currently no approved targeted therapies for the condition, and current clinical management involves reducing immunosuppressive therapy, which raises the risk of graft rejection.
At closing, Ipsen will hand over 200 million euros on a cash-and-debt-free basis, with the balance structured as deferred payments contingent on hitting development, regulatory, and commercial targets, the company said. Closing is anticipated before the end of the third quarter, pending standard regulatory and contractual sign-offs; Ipsen has already incorporated the financial effect into its guidance for the full year.
Potravitug works by blocking the BK virus from attaching to and entering host cells, thereby preventing viral replication, the company said. The drug holds FDA fast-track designation, granted in May 2023, and E.U. orphan drug designation, granted in December 2025. Results from the Phase II SAFE KIDNEY II trial — the largest placebo-controlled study in this patient population, with 95 patients across 22 sites in the U.S. — showed that 24.4% of treated patients achieved undetectable viral levels by week 38, compared with 13.0% in the placebo group. Biopsy-confirmed nephropathy declined from 51.2% to 31.6% in the potravitug group by week 20, with no change in the placebo group. No treatment-related serious adverse events were reported.
Ipsen said the trial results support initiating a pivotal Phase II/III study, called SAFE KIDNEY III, later this year.
Everything at Memo Therapeutics outside of potravitug — its staff, the DROPZYLLA antibody discovery platform, and a collaboration with CSL — will be spun into a new entity called Memorises Bio, which Memo's existing shareholders will own.
The acquisition is Ipsen's second this week. The French drugmaker agreed to acquire Kartos Therapeutics, a California-based company developing a treatment for myelofibrosis, a rare blood cancer, for $450 million upfront and up to $1.3 billion in additional milestone payments. Ipsen said that deal was also expected to close by the end of the third quarter.
Ipsen stock fell 1.07% on Wednesday.
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