Tech Dealmaker Awards

Dipp

Envisioning huge potential for future anti-aging drugs, British behemoth GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) paid a handsome price for Cambridge-based Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Inc.: $720 million cash — an 84 percent premium over the company’s publicly traded stock price of $12.23 per share.

Sirtris, founded in 2004 and led through an IPO by co-founder Christoph Westphal in 2007, is known for its work with sirtuins, a family of enzymes that may hold the key to prolonging human life. It wants to manipulate sirtuins to treat a host of age-related diseases, such as diabetes, neurodegeneration, cancer, and inflammation. It’s lead program, SRT-501 for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, is currently in Phase 2a clinical studies.

Becoming a fully-owned subsidiary of GSK means Sirtris has deeper pockets for clinical trials. “This deal has provided us with a significant source of capital, so we can not only go into different therapeutic areas but also explore different targets for the sirtuins,” said Michelle Dipp, vice president of corporate development for Sirtris.

But on the face of things, little has changed for the 60-employee biotech, according to Dipp. “Even though we are fully integrated on finance and intellectual property, on the science side, we haven’t changed a bit,” she said. “We are still Sirtris with the same management team and offices, and that is what makes this deal very special.”

— Amy Castor

Category

Life Sciences

The Deal

GSK purchased Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Inc. for $720 million cash, which closed in June 2008

Key Executives

Christoph Westphal, CEO, Sirtris; Michelle Dipp, vice president, corporate development, Sirtris; Moncef Slaoui, chairman, research and development, GSK; Adrian Rawcliffe, senior vice president, world business development, GSK

Deal advisers

Financial: J.P. Morgan
Legal: Ropes & Gray LLP

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