Japan’s Asahi Kasei buys antiviral specialist Aicuris in €780 million deal
Takeover in Wuppertal: Aicuris Anti-Infective Cures AG, which specializes in active ingredients for infectious diseases, is being acquired by Japanese pharmaceutical company Asahi Kasei for almost €800 million (around US$920 million). The company, founded by former Bayer employees Helga Rübsamen-Schaeff and Holger Zimmermann using substances from Bayer, had obtained its own approval and is currently in late-stage clinical development with active ingredients that are currently being presented with positive data at scientific conferences.
Around 20 years after its founding, the Wuppertal-based biotech company Aicuris Anti-infective Cures AG is about to be sold: Japanese technology group Asahi Kasei is acquiring the company, which specializes in antiviral therapies, for €780 million in cash.
The transaction is to be handled by the Japanese company’s US subsidiary, Veloxis Pharmaceuticals. With this acquisition, Asahi Kasei aims to expand its portfolio in the field of severe viral infections, particularly in patients with weakened immune systems, such as those who have undergone stem cell or organ transplants. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026.
A successful biotech story
Since its spin-off in 2006, Aicuris has positioned itself as a specialist in antiviral therapies for immunocompromised individuals. Its most visible product to date is PREVYMIS, which is used to prevent cytomegalovirus infections in certain transplant patients and is marketed by its partner MSD.
Pritelivir, for the treatment of refractory herpes simplex virus infections in immunocompromised patients, such as HIV patients, is also in late-stage clinical development. The drug recently achieved its primary endpoint in a global Phase III study and demonstrated statistical superiority over the comparator therapy. With AIC468, the company also has a Phase II-ready candidate for BK virus reactivation in kidney transplant patients.
This is not the end…
Aicuris CEO Larry Edwards sees the acquisition as a strategic acceleration: “Asahi Kasei’s goal of addressing serious unmet medical needs in the field of infectious diseases aligns with our mission to provide innovative antiviral therapies for immunocompromised patients. This transaction recognizes the strength of our research and development platform and the strategic progress our team has made with PREVYMIS, Pritelivir, and AIC468. As part of Asahi Kasei, we will be able to accelerate our research and development, strengthen our US market launch preparations, and make our programs available to more patients worldwide. I am deeply grateful to our employees, partners, and investors, as well as to the patients who have placed their trust in us and made this success possible.”
For Asahi Kasei, the acquisition fits into its strategy of an integrated global pharmaceutical model that combines research, clinical development, and marketing across Japan, the US, and Europe. With its existing presence in the transplantation and kidney sectors, the group expects synergies in the market launch of pipeline projects.
For the German biotech sector, the transaction marks another prominent exit and underscores that the long-term development of clinical programs can also pay off outside of oncology or the innovation hubs that are often in the spotlight. Two decades after its founding, Aicuris is thus becoming part of a global healthcare group, with the prospect of establishing its antiviral therapies more broadly on an international scale. No information has been provided as to whether major changes are imminent at the Wuppertal site.
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