Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CNCE) today announced that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has terminated the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act) for the pending sale of CTP-656 and other assets related to the treatment of cystic fibrosis by Concert to Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX). 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 CF.
The expiration of the HSR Act waiting period represents the final regulatory closing condition required to complete the asset purchase. On May 24, 2017, Concert shareholders approved the authorization of the CTP-656 asset purchase agreement. The transaction is expected to close in the coming days.
As announced on March 6, 2017, pursuant to the asset purchase agreement and upon closing, Vertex will pay Concert $160 million in cash for all worldwide development and commercialization rights to CTP-656 and Concert’s other cystic fibrosis assets. If CTP-656 is approved as part of a combination regimen to treat CF, Concert could receive up to an additional $90 million in milestones based on regulatory approval in the U.S. and agreement for reimbursement in the first of the United Kingdom, Germany or France.
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.
