LEO Pharma spends $435 million to acquire rare-disease skin drug dersimelagon

LEO Pharma announced it will pay $435 million to buy the rights to dersimelagon, an oral MC1R agonist originally developed by Tanabe Pharma.

The drug has completed Phase 3 trials for two rare photosensitivity disorders-erythropoietic protoporphyria and X‑linked protoporphyria-and was submitted to the FDA in June.

In the Phase 3 INSPIRE study, patients receiving dersimelagon were able to stay in the sun longer, with an average increase of 23 minutes by weeks 12‑16 and up to 29 minutes in a later analysis, while also experiencing fewer pain events.

The acquisition marks LEO’s third recent purchase in medical dermatology, a segment that grew 12% in the first half of the year, and expands its portfolio in a niche therapeutic area.