Aescap’s Calliditas Therapeutics received a takeover bid from Asahi Kasei: 83% premium

This morning, Japan’s Asahi Kasei Corp. announced that it intends to buy Calliditas Therapeutics at a premium of 83%. Yesterday, Calliditas closed at SEK 113,6. Asahi Kasei’s offer is SEK 208.

Prior to the offer, Calliditas made up 5% of the Aescap Life Sciences fund. Today, Calliditas’ share price increased by 78%.

Calliditas Therapeutics

Calliditas focuses on finding new treatments for rare diseases. The company has 1 product on the market, kidney medicine Tarpeyo. This is the only FDA-approved medicine for the treatment of immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN). A rare autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of the kidneys and can lead to permanent kidney damage or failure. In addition, Calliditas has various clinical studies underway, including for a medicine for head and neck cancer.