Argenx brings a Californian peptide specialist fully in-house as it targets medicines in pill form

Argenx is taking over Unnatural Products (UNP), a US biotech company in which it already held a stake. The Ghent-based group is paying 550 million dollars, roughly 491 million euros, in cash. On top of that come up to 595 million dollars in contingent payments if certain development and regulatory targets are met, which could take the deal to about 1.15 billion dollars, Business AM reports. The acquisition was announced before the market opened on Monday and is expected to close by the end of the year.

UNP develops so-called macrocyclic peptides: larger, ring-shaped molecules that can be taken as a pill and remain active for a long time. To do so it combines AI-assisted design, parallel synthesis and direct biological testing, Reuters writes. The two companies had already worked together for two years on several targets. UNP will continue to operate from Santa Cruz, California, and become part of Argenx's research organisation.

Argenx, which earns most of its revenue from antibody therapies for autoimmune diseases, wants to use the purchase to broaden its immunology research towards oral treatments, Endpoints News reports. The platform is meant to complement the existing antibody technology. Argenx is led by Karen Massey, UNP by co-founder Cameron Pye.