Grifols has acquired its existing portfolio company Alkahest, five years after buying a 45% stake in the Stanford University spinout.

Alkahest, a US-based neurodegenerative disease drug developer spun out of Stanford University, agreed to an acquisition by pharmaceutical firm Grifols for $146m yesterday. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close early next year. Founded in 2014, Alkahest is working on therapies based on the company’s map of the human plasma proteome – the set of proteins in the blood plasma – to slow detrimental biological processes of aging. The spinout has four candidates in six phase 2 trials, covering neurodegenerative, cognitive decline, neuromuscular and ophthalmic conditions. Following the merger, Alkahest will be a wholly-owned subsidiary within Grifol’s innovation office and continue its work of identifying proteins in plasma, having already identified more than 8,000 to date. Grifols expects Alkahest’s work to lead to a range of new therapies. Grifols invested a total of $50m in funding in Alkahest in 2015 and entered into a collaboration agreement, with the corporate receiving a 45% stake. Víctor Grífols, co-CEO of Grifols, said: “We saw the promise of Alkahest’s understanding of aging when we made our first investment and entered into a collaboration agreement with them five years ago. “Now we see a wealth of plasma-derived and non-plasma therapeutic candidates identified by Alkahest that can significantly support the unmet needs of many diseases associated with aging.” – A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.

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Thierry Heles

Thierry Heles is the editor of Global University Venturing, host of the Beyond the Breakthrough interview podcast and responsible for the monthly GUV Gazette (sign up here for free).