Adds analyst comment in paragraph 3, details from call in paragraph 5
By Kamal Choudhury
Dec 8 (Reuters) - Mirum Pharmaceuticals MIRM.O said on Monday it will buy Bluejay Therapeutics in a deal worth up to $820 million, adding a late-stage experimental drug for a severe liver disease.
The deal will give the company worldwide rights to brelovitug, a monoclonal antibody being tested for chronic hepatitis D, a rare and aggressive liver condition that affects about 230,000 people in the U.S. and Europe and currently has no approved therapies.
"This is another savvy transaction by Mirum bringing in a derisked asset with excellent strategic fit at a low upfront cost," said Citizens Bank analyst Jonathan Wolleben.
Mirum will pay $250 million in cash and $370 million in stock upfront, plus up to $200 million in potential sales-based milestone payments.
The company estimates brelovitug's global revenue potential to be at least $750 million, with the drug expected to treat 2,000 to 3,000 patients at peak.
Hepatitis D is considered the most severe form of the viral disease, which occurs only in people already infected with hepatitis B and can lead to rapid liver damage and cancer. Nearly half of those diagnosed die from liver-related complications within 10 years, according to Mirum.
In a mid-stage study, brelovitug cut hepatitis D virus levels in all patients treated for 48 weeks, with up to 82% also showing normalized liver enzyme levels.
Mirum said it had secured $200 million through a private placement to help fund the drug's development and commercialization.
The late-stage study results are expected in the second half of 2026. If successful, Mirum plans to seek U.S. regulatory approval and potentially launch the treatment in 2027.
The deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026.
Shares of Mirum, which has a market value of about $3.52 billion, were down 3% in morning trading.
(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Sriraj Kalluvila)
((Kamal.Choudhury@thomsonreuters.com;))