Bristol-Myers to Acquire Amira Pharma For $325 Million

Bristol-Myers Squibb said Thursday it has agreed to acquire Amira Pharmaceuticals, a privately held company, for an upfront payment of $325 million in cash.

The terms also include a potential additional milestone payments totaling $150 million. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Amira, a small-molecule pharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery and early development of new drugs to treat inflammatory and fibrotic diseases.

By lapping up Amira, Bristol-Myers Squibb said it will have access to Amira's fibrosis program, including its lead asset AM152, an orally available lysophosphatidic acid 1 receptor antagonist which has completed Phase I studies for treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and systemic sclerosis, or scleroderma. The program is now poised for phase 2a studies.

Bristol-Myers Squibb will also obtain Amira's preclinical autotaxin program, which may be useful in the treatment of neuropathic pain and cancer metastases.

Bristol-Myers Squibb said it plans to retain Amira Pharmaceuticals' scientists who work on both of these programs and they will remain located in San Diego.