The Japanese pharma company has completed its €800 million euro acquisition of the biotech firm.

Astellas Pharma Inc. has officially completed the acquistion of the Belgium biotech Ogeda SA, for €800 million euros. Ogeda is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Astellas. The acquisition greatly expands the firm’s late-state pipeline and positively impacts the firm’s growth.

In particular, Astella’s now adds fezolinetant to the pipeling, a selective NK3 receptor antagonist that has shown to be responsive in Phase IIA trials. The drug is used in the non-hormonal treatment of menopause-related vasomotor symptoms, otherwise known as “hot flashes.” Trials indicate that these episodes are decreased in both frequency and severity, with no severe adverse effects reported. 

 According to the Principal Investigator of the research, Pr. Herman Depypere (UZ Ghent), “More than 80% of menopausal women develop hot flashes and 20% to 30% of this population seek treatment because their symptoms are severe and debilitating and negatively affect their quality-of-life.” Jean Combalbert, CEO of Ogeda, also commented on the promising findings, adding, “These positive results demonstrate that menopausal women may finally be able to look forward to a rapid, effective and safe non-hormonal treatment for menopausal HF, a treatment option that has been demanded for a long time.”

 The Ogeda pipeline, again, now part of the Astella’s roster, also includes small molecule drugs targeting G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). This GPCR technology has already generated a growing interest by other leading pharma giants such as Pfizer, Merck & Co and AstraZeneca.

Based in Tokyo, Japan, Astellas is focused on the areas of Urology, Oncology, Immunology, Nephrology and Neuroscience, as well as discovery research.

Ogeda defines itself as a clinical-stage drug discovery company that specifically invents and develops small molecule drugs targeting G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GCPRs).