Shire announces takeover of Premacure

Shire has announced the acquisition of Premacure, a Swedish biotechnology business that is working on a promising treatment for a rare eye disorder.

The acquired company is currently carrying out phase II trials of the protein replacement therapy option for the prevention of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), a potentially blinding eye disorder that primarily affects premature infants.

Only symptomatic treatments are presently available for this condition, but Premacure's new drug could provide a first-in-class therapy option that would minimise the development and impact of complications arising from ROP.

This takeover allows Shire to enter a new therapeutic area, neonatology, while conforming to its established strategy of creating novel treatments for uncommon conditions.

Dr Flemming Ornskov, Shire's chief executive officer designate, said: "We will build on the work that Premacure has done and will apply Shire's proven ability in developing protein replacement therapies for rare disorders to bring this much-needed therapy to the market."

This comes after the company announced the acquisition of the US-based biotechnology firm Lotus Tissue Repair earlier this year.