Johnson and Johnson to acquire Aragon Pharmaceuticals

Johnson and Johnson, the parent company of the Janssen healthcare business, has agreed a deal to acquire Aragon Pharmaceuticals.

Aragon is focused on the discovery and development of drugs to treat hormonally-driven cancers, with its lead product candidate being a second-generation androgen receptor signaling inhibitor called ARN-509 that is currently being evaluated against prostate cancer.

Under the terms of the deal, Johnson and Johnson will take over the rights to this compound only, with all of Aragon's other assets to be transferred to a newly-formed company that will be spun off.

An upfront cash payment of $650 million (414.9 million pounds) will be paid by Johnson and Johnson, plus additional payments of up to $350 million contingent on reaching predetermined milestones.

Dr Peter Lebowitz, global therapeutic area head for oncology at Janssen research and development, said: "The acquisition of Aragon further enhances our leadership in prostate cancer drug development … Prostate cancer is one of our main areas of focus and we are pleased to be adding ARN-509 to our portfolio."

The addition of this new business to the group will bring benefits for Janssen, which is currently pursuing a goal of submitting more than ten new product filings between now and 2017.