Bayer to acquire Asklepios Bio for $4B

• Bayer AG (OTCPK:BAYRY) has agreed to acquire U.S. biotech company Asklepios BioPharmaceutical to strengthen its commitment in the field of cell and gene therapy business across different therapeutic areas.
• The Company will own full rights to AskBio's gene therapy platform, including a broad intellectual property portfolio and an established contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO).
• Under the terms of the agreement, Bayer will pay an upfront consideration of $2B and potential milestone payments of up to $2B, with 75% of the milestone payments to be paid during the course of the next five years.
• The addition of AskBio will complement the 2019 acquisition of BlueRock Therapeutics and lay the foundation for future partnerships in the area of adeno-associated virus (AAV) therapies.
• AskBio's portfolio includes investigational pre-clinical and clinical stage candidates for the treatment of neuromuscular, central nervous system, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
• The transaction is expected to close in Q4.