Tarsus Pharmaceuticals to acquire Alkeus for up to $800M

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: TARS) announced a definitive agreement to acquire Alkeus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company developing gildeuretinol (ALK-001), an investigational oral therapy for Stargardt disease, a rare inherited retinal condition affecting more than 36,000 clinically diagnosed patients in the United States with no FDA-approved treatment.

Under the terms of the deal, Tarsus will pay approximately $450 million upfront, consisting of $270 million in cash and $180 million in Tarsus common stock priced at $61.38 per share. Additional milestone payments of up to $350 million may be paid upon potential regulatory approval and first commercial sale, plus low single-digit tiered descending royalties on net sales of gildeuretinol.

Gildeuretinol is a once-daily oral small molecule designed to reduce the accumulation of toxic vitamin A dimers in the retina while preserving the normal visual cycle. Clinical data to date include a 29.5% slower annualized growth rate of atrophic lesions compared to an untreated arm in the TEASE-1 study, and an 87% reduction in the likelihood of significant low light visual acuity loss compared to placebo in the TEASE-2 study. More than 400 patients have been treated, with some followed for over seven years.