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GSK to Acquire IDRx in $1.15B Deal

NEW YORK – GlaxoSmithKline on Monday said it will acquire IDRx, a company developing a precision therapy for gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), in a deal worth up to $1.15 billion.

Under the agreement, GSK will pay $1 billion upfront and may pay an additional $150 million if IDRx meets certain regulatory approval milestones. GSK will acquire all outstanding equity interests in IDRx, including all options and other incentive equity.

The acquisition will add IDRx's lead candidate, the KIT inhibitor IDRX-42, to GSK's portfolio. IDRX-42 is an investigational treatment for GIST patients with KIT mutations in exons 9, 11, 13, or 17, who have progressed on or are intolerant to Novartis' c-KIT inhibitor Gleevec (imatinib).

IDRx is studying IDRX-42 in a Phase I/Ib trial. In November, IDRx reported that among 87 patients with KIT-mutated GIST on second- or later-line treatment, the objective response rate was 29 percent including one complete response and 24 partial responses. Among 15 patients who had one prior line of therapy, the response rate was 53 percent on IDRX-42 including one complete response and seven partial responses.

Boston-based IDRx launched in 2022 after licensing IDRX-42 from Merck KGaA and IDRX-73, from Blueprint Medicines. Under the latest acquisition agreement, GSK will be responsible for success-based milestone payments as well as tiered royalties for IDRX-42 owed to Merck KGaA.

Centerview Partners is IDRx's financial adviser, and Goodwin Procter is its legal counsel in the transaction. Leerink Partners is GSK's financial adviser.