Novo will add Akero’s efruxifermin to its MASH portfolio, which includes Wegovy after the GLP-1 gained an FDA nod in the indication earlier this year.
Novo Nordisk will acquire Akero Therapeutics for $5.2 billion, becoming the latest Big Pharma to strike in a red-hot liver disease space that has spurred several high-profile deals of late.
The Danish pharma is offering $54 per share in cash at closing plus a contingent value right granting shareholders $6 per share after the U.S. approval of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) therapy efruxifermin by June 30, 2031. That means $4.7 billion upfront, a 19% premium on the biotech’s average share price.
The deal has already been approved by Akero’s board and is expected to close by the end of the year.
Akero made waves earlier this year with data showing that efruxifermin had a 24% benefit in reducing fibrosis of the liver compared with placebo. Analysts at Jefferies writing at the time heralded the results as a “home run” that de-risked the asset. Akero’s shares jumped 115% on the news.
The results were so good that Roche went looking for a similar asset. Akero was named in recent regulatory documents regarding that company’s $3.5 billion buyout of 89bio, which has a similar FGF21 analog called pegozafermin. As many as six companies were also interested in striking a deal with 89bio, according to the documents.
Novo will now take over development of efruxifermin, shepherding the drug through the Phase III SYNCHRONY trial. The therapy will join Novo’s Wegovy, which was approved for the indication earlier this year.
BMO Capital Markets called the deal a “clean pipeline fit” for Novo, noting the recent Wegovy approval and the company’s previous discontinuation of a FGF21 program.
Akero will also fit into Novo’s focus on metabolic disorders, driven by its blockbuster semaglutide franchise. The company rose to global prominence thanks to the weight loss drug Wegovy. But sales have stalled more recently and Novo’s pipeline has faced a series of stumbles. New CEO Maziar Mike Doustdar is now undertaking a major restructuring that has cost 9,000 employees their jobs.
“We view this deal, coupled with recent internal restructuring at Novo, positively as Doustdar works to bring the ship back on course,” BMO’s analysts wrote in a Thursday morning note.
At the same time, the company has been at the dealmaking table, signing several licensing deals. Analysts also speculate that Novo may have been one of the bidders in the process to acquire Metsera, a buzzy weight loss biotech that ultimately was purchased by Pfizer for $4.9 billion.
Analysts from Jefferies predict that Novo has about $63 billion in M&A firepower available.
MASH has become a particularly hot space for Big Pharma, after small biotech Madrigal cracked open the market with the 2024 approval of Rezdiffra. In addition to Roche’s takeout of 89bio, GSK bought Boston Pharmaceuticals’ investigational FGF21 analog efimosfermin alfa for $1.2 billion in May.
Madrigal, meanwhile, is going the other way, licensing a GLP-1 pill from China’s CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Limited and re-establishing a pipeline after the FDA win.
