Dublin-based Jazz Pharmaceuticals will acquire Chimerix for $8.55 per share in cash, representing a total consideration of approximately $935 million.
Key to the deal is North Carolina-based Chimerix’s lead clinical asset, dordaviprone, a novel first-in-class oral small molecule treatment in development for H3 K27M-mutant diffuse glioma, a rare, high-grade brain tumor that most commonly affects children and young adults. There are no FDA-approved therapies specifically for this condition; radiation is the most common treatment approach.
The FDA has already accepted the NDA for accelerated approval of dordaviprone in recurrent H3 K27M-mutant diffuse glioma, granting it priority review and assigning a PDUFA action date of August 18, 2025. If approved, dordaviprone may be eligible for a rare pediatric disease priority review voucher (PRV).
Dordaviprone is being studied in the ongoing phase 3 ACTION trial, evaluating its use in newly diagnosed, non-recurrent H3 K27M-mutant diffuse glioma patients following radiation treatment, potentially extending this treatment option into the front-line setting.
The transaction has been approved by both companies and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025.
The deal is intended to strengthen Jazz’s presence in the rare oncology space. Last year, in a bid to boost its pipeline of targeted oncology treatments, Jazz inked a potential $870 million deal to pick up the global rights to Redx's KRAS inhibitor program.