LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CNCE) today announced that in connection with its annual shareholder meeting, Concert shareholders voted to approve the asset purchase agreement under which Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) will acquire CTP-656 and other assets related to the treatment of cystic fibrosis. CTP-656 is an investigational cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) potentiator that has the potential to be used as part of future once-daily combination regimens of CFTR modulators that treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis. The companies entered into the asset purchase agreement on March 3, 2017. The shareholder approval satisfies one of the conditions to the closing of the asset purchase agreement. Closing of the transaction remains subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. Concert continues to expect the transaction to close by October 31, 2017.
As part of the agreement, Vertex will pay Concert $160 million in cash for all worldwide development and commercialization rights to CTP-656. If CTP-656 is approved as part of a combination regimen to treat cystic fibrosis, Concert could receive up to an additional $90 million in milestones based on regulatory approval in the U.S. and reimbursement in the UK, Germany or France.
“We would like to express our appreciation to Concert’s shareholders for their support. We believe this transaction provides the best path to advance CTP-656 as a treatment for cystic fibrosis patients, and provides financial strength to enable Concert to advance our proprietary pipeline of innovative medicines,” said Roger Tung, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Concert Pharmaceuticals.
About Concert
Concert Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on applying its DCE Platform® (deuterated chemical entity platform) to create novel medicines designed to address unmet patient needs. The Company’s approach starts with approved drugs in which deuterium substitution has the potential to enhance clinical safety, tolerability or efficacy. Concert has a broad pipeline of innovative medicines targeting pulmonary diseases, including cystic fibrosis, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and central nervous systems (CNS) disorders. For more information please visit www.concertpharma.com.
