Shionogi to acquire Texas-based IntraBio for $2 billion, adding marketed rare-disease drug Aqneursa

Shionogi announced Monday it will buy IntraBio, a Texas biotech, for $2 billion in cash, making IntraBio a wholly owned subsidiary of its U.S. division.

The deal gives Shionogi ownership of Aqneursa, a drug already approved for two inherited rare diseases, expanding its rare-disease portfolio that already includes the ALS therapy Radicava acquired last year.

Shionogi said it will assess how the transaction impacts its financial outlook for the fiscal year ending next March. The company’s U.S. portfolio also contains the COVID-19 treatment Xocova and antibiotics for complicated urinary-tract and hospital-acquired respiratory infections.

The acquisition reflects Shionogi’s strategy to grow its commercial-stage rare-disease business, which it began building with the Radicava purchase and includes other pipeline assets such as a Phase 3 candidate from a 2020 Tetra Therapeutics buyout.