Longboard Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Danish pharma Lundbeck vastly increased its offer to buy Longboard Pharmaceuticals over six months as other parties came to the dealmaking table, a new SEC filing shows. Lundbeck initially proposed $29 per share $LBPH on April 19 to buy the Phase 3 neurology biotech. By Oct. 14, when the $2.6 billion cash deal was announced, it had raised its offer to $60, according to an SEC filing on Wednesday morning. At the time, Lundbeck CEO Charl van Zyl told Endpoints News the deal was within the “benchmark premium” for companies with assets in Phase 3. “We believe we have fundamentally not overpaid for this asset,” he said in the interview. Longboard said last month that its 5-HT2C superagonist known as bexicaserin had entered Phase 3 for Dravet syndrome and has broader plans to test the treatment in other epileptic encephalopathies like Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Lundbeck had been intrigued by the Phase 1b/2a data that Longboard shared on Jan. 2 for patients who experience seizures associated with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies. That data skyrocketed Longboard’s stock price from $6.03 on Dec. 29 to $25.10 on Jan. 2. Shortly after the data release, Lundbeck representatives met with Longboard CEO Kevin Lind at the annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference. Lundbeck would go on to increasingly raise its offer from $29.00 to $34.50, then $54.00 and $59.00. Lind wanted $62.00 a share, but they eventually settled on $60.00. During the process, Longboard had also talked with other undisclosed companies, codenamed Parties A, B, C and D, according to another SEC filing on Wednesday. Party A had submitted a few offers, including one as high as $60.00 on Sept. 27. But on Oct. 2, Party A told Longboard it was no longer interested because of “various perceived risks,” according to the SEC document.

Lundbeck and Longboard Pharmaceuticals have announced an agreement for the Danish pharmaceutical company to acquire all outstanding shares of Longboard, in a transaction valued at $2.6 billion in equity value. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year. The deal will give Lundbeck ownership over Longboard’s pipeline of drug candidates for neurological and rare diseases. The lead asset, bexicaserin, is in late-stage development for the treatment of developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs), a group of severe epilepsies with onset in early childhood that affect over 220,000 people in the US alone. “This transformative transaction will become a cornerstone in Lundbeck’s neuro-rare franchise, with a potential to drive growth into the next decade. Bexicaserin addresses a critical unmet need for patients suffering from rare and severe epilepsies, for which there are very few good treatment options available," said Charl van Zyl, President and CEO of Lundbeck. The acquisition of Longboard will expand Lundbeck’s drug development pipeline, which focuses exclusively on therapeutic products for brain diseases, ranging from migraines to Parkinson’s. In particular, Longboard’s small molecule drug candidates are designed to selectively target G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), the most successful class of druggable targets in the human genome. In September this year, Longboard initiated a phase 3 clinical trial evaluating its lead asset, bexicaserin, for the treatment of seizures associated with Dravet syndrome. googletag.cmd.push(function () { googletag.display('text-ad1'); }); Cleveland Clinic describes Dravet syndrome as a rare type of epilepsy. Seizures usually start in the first year of a child’s life. In addition to frequent and varied seizures, children will experience lags in mental and physical development, with the possibility of many other symptoms. Medications help reduce the number and severity of symptoms. Bexicaserin is an oral drug candidate with a next-generation super-agonist mechanism that targets 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) 2C receptors, a type of serotonin receptors that are linked to epilepsy. The drug candidate has a differentiated mechanism of action that targets 5-HT 2C ​ specifically, without impacting other 5-HT receptor subtypes such as 5-HT 2A ​ and 5-HT 2B ​. In preclinical and clinical studies, Bexicaserin has shown anti-seizure effects, with a best-in-class profile in Dravet syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and other DEEs. The drug has blockbuster potential in this area of high unmet need, with global peak sales expected to be as high as $2 billion. “Longboard was founded to transform the lives of people living with devastating neurological conditions,” stated Kevin R. Lind, President and Chief Executive Officer of Longboard. “Lundbeck’s remarkable capabilities will accelerate our vision to provide increased equity and access for underserved DEE patients with significant unmet medical needs.”

Lundbeck has announced its plans to acquire Longboard Pharmaceuticals in a move to boost its neuroscience pipeline. The $2.6 billion deal will bring Longboard's innovative treatments for rare neurological conditions under Lundbeck’s wing, with a key focus on Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathies (DEEs). Longboard’s lead drug, bexicaserin, is currently in late-stage trials for treating rare forms of epilepsy like Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. The deal offers $60 per share in cash to Longboard’s shareholders, reflecting a significant premium on recent stock prices. Both companies’ boards have given their approval, and the deal is expected to close by the end of 2024, pending regulatory approvals and other final steps. Bexicaserin has already shown promising anti-seizure results in early studies and uses a unique approach targeting 5-HT2C receptors. By adding bexicaserin to its portfolio, Lundbeck strengthens its position in treating neuro-rare diseases.