NEW YORK – Regeneron Pharmaceuticals on Wednesday announced plans to acquire Decibel Therapeutics, a biotech firm developing gene therapies to restore hearing.
Under terms of the agreement, Tarrytown, New York-based Regeneron will buy the company at a price of $4.00 per share of Decibel common stock payable in cash, with an additional non-tradable contingent value right to receive up to $3.50 per share in cash based on clinical development and regulatory milestones for Decibel's lead investigational candidate, DB-OTO.
The deal values Boston-based Decibel at a total equity value of about $109 million at closing, and up to about $213 million if all milestones are achieved. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.
The Decibel acquisition will strengthen Regeneron's gene therapy and hearing loss programs, according to George Yancopoulos, board co-chair, CSO, and president of Regeneron. The two companies started working together in 2017 and are codeveloping three gene therapy programs for different forms of congenital, monogenic hearing loss.
"DB-OTO, our shared lead investigational gene therapy, will soon reach patients in its first clinical trial, offering new promise to children with this rare form of congenital hearing loss, as well as potential proof of concept for future gene therapies addressing more common forms of genetic hearing loss," Yancopoulos said in a statement.
DB-OTO, an adeno-associated virus vector-based gene therapy, aims to restore hearing for pediatric patients who have a rare form of congenital hearing loss caused by mutations in the OTOF gene. The drug, administered via intracochlear injection, is designed to express functional OTOF in the inner hair cells.
Decibel has launched its first clinical trial for the gene therapy, a global Phase I/II study called CHORD.