Jazz agrees to buy Actio for $820 million upfront

Jazz Pharmaceuticals agreed to acquire Actio Biosciences for $820 million in cash upfront, adding a clinical-stage treatment for a rare genetic epilepsy to its neurology business. The agreement includes as much as $500 million in additional payments tied to approvals and sales.

Actio's lead drug, ABS-1230, is designed to selectively inhibit the KCNT1 ion channel. The drug is being evaluated in a phase 1b/2a study involving patients with KCNT1-related developmental and epileptic encephalopathy.

The transaction centers on one clinical asset

KCNT1-related epilepsy is a severe condition that often begins in infancy and can cause frequent seizures that do not respond to existing medicines. Jazz estimates that about 2,500 people in the United States have the condition. No treatment is approved specifically for it.

Jazz said early proof-of-concept data showed meaningful seizure reductions, but the company has not yet reported results from a controlled late-stage trial. The ongoing study is intended to define dosing, safety and preliminary efficacy.

Jazz is building around epilepsy

Jazz entered the epilepsy market through its 2021 acquisition of GW Pharmaceuticals, which brought Epidiolex. The medicine generated $292 million in second-quarter revenue this year, according to Jazz.

ABS-1230 would give Jazz a genetically targeted program alongside its marketed and experimental epilepsy medicines. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to customary conditions.

Actio will spin out its other programs

Actio plans to place employees and assets unrelated to ABS-1230 into a new private company. That business will retain ABS-0871, a clinical-stage TRPV4 inhibitor, and earlier programs for rare neurological diseases.

Jazz will receive a minority interest and certain rights in the spinout. Existing Actio investors are expected to fund the new company.