Women’s Health Pharma company and Merck spin-off Organon, has completed its recently announced acquisition of Forendo Pharma, a clinical-stage drug development company focused on novel treatments in women’s health. Forendo’s lead candidate, FOR-6219, is an investigational, potentially first-in-class oral 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (HSD17B1) inhibitor entering Phase 2 clinical development for endometriosis. Forendo’s pipeline also includes a preclinical program targeting polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).
FOR-6219 has potential to act locally in the target tissues without impacting systemic hormone levels. This potential selective activity allows for its evaluation as a long-term treatment option for endometriosis, a current therapeutic gap.
“Despite the high prevalence of endometriosis, current treatment options are not adequately addressing the painful and challenging symptoms of women living with this disorder,” said Dr. Sandra Milligan, Head of Research & Development at Organon. “Through our acquisition of Forendo, we hope to bring innovation to this therapeutic area and enable future treatment options – in line with our continued focus on building a robust pipeline that addresses a broad spectrum of conditions impacting women.”
Consideration for the transaction includes a $75 million upfront payment, assumption of approximately $9 million of Forendo debt, payments upon the achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones of up to $270 million and commercial milestones payments of up to $600 million, which together could amount to total consideration of $954 million.
