Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc announced its purchase of all of the equity of Symphony GenIsis at the pre-negotiated price of $120 million. Prompting this transaction, on September 13, 2007, Isis announced its metabolic disease-focused collaboration with Ortho-McNeil, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, to discover, develop and commercialize up to four antisense drugs.
The collaboration includes licensing of two of the drugs previously held by Symphony GenIsis, ISIS 325568 and ISIS 377131, which target glucagon receptor and glucocorticoid receptor. In addition, Isis has required full ownership of ISIS 301012, its cholesterol-lowering drug targeting apolipoprotein B-100.
Symphony GenIsis was the entity formed in April 2006 by Symphony Capital Partners, L P, and capitalized with $75 million, to fund development of three of Isis' drugs. As part of that transaction, Isis licensed to Symphony GenIsis its ISIS 301012 programme, and two diabetes programmes for the development of ISIS 325568 and ISIS 377131. Isis has been conducting the development of ISIS 301012, ISIS 325568, and ISIS 377131 with funding from Symphony GenIsis.
As part of the $120 million Symphony GenIsis purchase price, Isis paid Symphony Capital $80.4 million in cash and approximately 3.4 million shares of Isis stock, for an aggregate value of $39.6 million based on a 60-day average closing price prior to the date Isis exercised the repurchase.
B. Lynne Parshall, executive vice president and CFO of Isis Pharmaceuticals, commented, "We have been very satisfied with our Symphony GenIsis financing. It provided us with the capital to advance the two diabetes programs, and with the Symphony funding we have been able to assemble a full phase II and supportive toxicology profile for ISIS 301012, upon which we are now basing our licensing discussions for that drug. Because all three of the programs appreciated in value so rapidly, we were able to purchase the Symphony GenIsis equity early in the four-year collaboration term, saving ourselves $75 million in additional capital."
Mark Kessel, managing director of Symphony Capital, added, "We are pleased that Isis was able to use the capital we provided so effectively and that our clinical involvement with these programs benefited Isis."