Dublin, Ireland; and Burlington, Mass. – November 2, 2015 – Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPG) and Dyax Corp. (NASDAQ: DYAX) today announced that Shire will acquire Dyax for $37.30 in cash per Dyax share, for aggregate upfront consideration of approximately $5.9 billion. Dyax shareholders may receive additional value through a non-tradable contingent value right (CVR) that will pay $4.00 in cash per Dyax share upon approval of DX-2930 in HAE, representing a potential additional $646 million in aggregate contingent consideration.

Dyax is a publicly traded, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company primarily focused on the development of plasma kallikrein (pKal) inhibitors for the treatment of HAE, a debilitating and sometimes life-threatening rare genetic disease. Dyax has already successfully developed and commercialized KALBITOR, which is approved for HAE acute treatment in patients 12 years of age and older, and represented an early innovation in HAE treatment.

Dyax’s most advanced clinical program is DX-2930, a Phase 3-ready, fully humanized monoclonal antibody targeting pKal with proof-of-concept Phase 1B efficacy data. This data demonstrate a > 90% reduction in HAE attacks compared to placebo in the 300mg/400mg arms in patients with > 2 attacks in the 3 months prior to study entry.
DX-2930 has received Fast Track, Breakthrough Therapy, and Orphan Drug designations by the FDA and has also received Orphan Drug status in the EU. It is expected to enter Phase 3 clinical trials by year-end 2015. If approved for the prevention of Type 1 and Type 2 HAE, DX-2930 could generate estimated annual global sales of up to $2.0 billion.

Transaction Highlights

DX-2930

Adds Dyax’s DX-2930, a Phase 3-ready, long-acting injectable monoclonal antibody for HAE prophylaxis, with the potential to lower rates of HAE attacks and significantly improve patient convenience based on clinical trial data reported to date
Offers patent protection and anticipated regulatory exclusivity beyond 2030
Adds to Shire’s best-in-class therapies addressing significant unmet patient need
Shire and Dyax Combination

Combines Dyax’s HAE commercial and research and development expertise with Shire’s HAE leadership and proven ability to advance rare disease assets through development to commercialization
Provides additional early-stage antibody pipeline programs for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, diabetic macular edema and thrombosis
Adds Dyax’s well-established proprietary phage display antibody generation technology to Shire’s rare diseases discovery capabilities, as well as partnering revenue associated with Dyax’s Licensing and Funded Research Portfolio (LFRP)

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