Allergan to acquire Tobira for $1.7bn

Allergan has entered into an agreement to acquire Tobira Therapeutics for up to $1.7 billion.

The acquisition, which is Allergan’s third this month, will allow it to develop therapies for treating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a fatty liver disease closely linked to obesity.

Allergan has also announced that it will pay up to $50 million for Akarna Therapeutics, another company that is working on a treatment for NASH.

The buyout adds Cenicriviroc and Evogliptin, two complementary development programmes for treating NASH, to Allergan’s global gastroenterology research and development (R&D) pipeline.

President of Allergan, Brent Saunders, said in a statement: “The acquisition of Tobira is a strategic R&D investment within a white space area of our global gastroenterology franchise and an opportunity to advance the development of novel treatments for NASH.”

He added: “With the increasing rates of diabetes, obesity and other metabolic conditions in the US and in developed nations globally, NASH is set to become one of the next epidemic-level chronic diseases we face as a society.

“It is important that we invest in new treatments today so that healthcare systems, providers and patients have treatment options to face this challenge in the coming years.”