Incyte to acquire Vega Therapeutics for up to $2 billion, securing late-stage von Willebrand disease drug

Incyte announced it will purchase Vega Therapeutics, a unit of Star Therapeutics, for $1.25 billion in cash with the possibility of receiving up to $750 million more if future sales targets are met.

The acquisition gives Incyte control of VGA039, an experimental medicine that is in late-stage testing and is being developed primarily for von Willebrand disease, the most common inherited bleeding disorder.

VGA039 is formulated as a once-monthly subcutaneous injection that patients can administer themselves, which could replace the current regimen of intravenous factor replacement infusions given two to three times a week.