Biogen has completed its acquisition of Nightstar Therapeutics, a gene therapy company focused on adeno-associated virus (AAV) treatments for inherited retinal disorders, in a transaction valued at approximately $800 million.
 
With the acquisition, Biogen has added two mid- to late-stage clinical assets, as well as preclinical programs, in ophthalmology. NST’s lead asset is NSR-REP1 for the treatment of choroideremia (CHM), a rare, degenerative, X-linked inherited retinal disorder, which leads to blindness and has no approved treatments. NSR-RPGR is NST’s second clinical program for the treatment of X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP), which is also a rare inherited retinal disease primarily affecting males with no approved treatments.
 
“Today marks a significant achievement for Biogen,” said Michel Vounatsos, Biogen’s chief executive oficer. “The acquisition of Nightstar further bolsters our pipeline and is an important step forward toward our goal of a multi-franchise portfolio across complementary modalities. We look forward to working now as one Biogen team with the goal of bringing breakthrough therapies to patients to slow or halt blindness across a range of inherited retinal diseases.”