Achillion Pharmaceuticals says major stockholder Johnson & Johnson intends to sell its entire stake in the New Haven biotech firm, the latest blow to the company.
The New Jersey pharmaceutical giant’s 18.4 million Achillion shares will be sold off at $2.75 per share in the secondary public offering that will close Nov. 20, Achillion announced Thursday. The company said it will not receive any proceeds from the sale.
Achillion took another hit in September when Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals pulled the plug on a potential Hepatitis C treatment, despite good results in clinical trials. The treatment included an antiviral compound developed by Achillion.
Janssen, citing a crowded Hepatitis C treatment market, said it would focus instead on treatments for Hepatitis B.
In a separate announcement Wednesday, Achillion released promising early-stage results in a clinical study of another drug, ACH-4471, to treat a serious kidney disease known as C3G, for which there are no FDA-approved therapies.
Achillion said data from the first two patients in the study showed a greater than 50 percent decrease in protein in their urine after two weeks on the drug. Protein in the urine is a common sign of kidney problems.
Natalie Missakian can be reached at news@newhavenbiz.com
