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Japan based Astellas Pharma Inc. and UK based Nanna Therapeutics Limited have announced that Astellas has acquired Nanna, that is focused on addressing age-related diseases with high unmet medical need including mitochondria-related diseases.
Astellas, through its subsidiary in the United Kingdom, Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd., has purchased all of the issued share capital of Nanna through execution of a Share Purchase Agreement.
Adding Nanna’s proprietary and advanced screening platform with new DNA-encoded chemical libraries (DELs) technology significantly bolsters Astellas’ early stage drug development capabilities.
Nanna’s unique capabilities enable the creation and rapid testing of more diverse chemical libraries. The approach enables phenotype-based screening which is not feasible with conventional DELs. It can also be applied to various assay systems including cell-based assays utilizing patient-derived cells, potentially enabling screens that are tailored to a specific disease biology.
Consideration for the acquisition, £12 million, was paid upon closing of the acquisition, and Nanna became a wholly owned subsidiary of Astellas. In addition to this payment, Nanna’s shareholders are eligible to receive potential future development milestone payments of up to £57.5 million.
