Amicus Buys Rare Disease Firm Scioderm

Rare-disease-focused Amicus Therapeutics is paying $229 million to acquire Durham, N.C.-based Scioderm. The cornerstone of the deal is Zorblisa, a topical cream in Phase III studies for epidermolysis bullosa, a rare genetic disorder that causes people to have extremely fragile skin. Scioderm shareholders could reap another $618 million in milestones if the drug is approved and successful. If approved, Zorblisa could also snag an FDA priority review voucher (PRV), a transferrable voucher that can be used to accelerate the review time for another drug candidate. AbbVie recently paid $350 million to United Therapeutics for a PRV. Amicus has agreed to repay Scioderm shareholders up to $100 million if a PRV for Zorblisa is obtained and sold.