French biotech company Ipsen to buy Kartos Therapeutics for $450 million

Ipsen SA

29/06/2026 09:11

June 29 (Reuters) - Ipsen IPN.PA will buy U.S.-based Kartos Therapeutics for $450 million to expand its oncology pipeline with a late-stage blood cancer treatment, the French biotech company said on Monday.
     
The deal gives Ipsen navtemadlin, an investigational oral therapy being evaluated in a Phase III trial for patients with myelofibrosis, a rare blood cancer.
Kartos shareholders will be eligible for up to $1.3 billion in additional milestone payments tied to regulatory and sales targets.
Initial trial data is expected in 2027, potentially paving the way for the therapy to be launched as early as 2028.
Ipsen says the acquisition will boost core operating income from 2029.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of this year, subject to antitrust clearance.

(Reporting by Lucie Barbier and Margaux Perrin
Editing by David Goodman)
((Email: lucie.barbier@thomsonreuters.com))