07:43 AM EDT, 04/11/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Vertex Pharmaceuticals' ( VRTX ) deal to acquire Alpine Immune Sciences ( ALPN ) for $4.9 billion shows the strong potential of its lead product in kidney-disease treatment and "broader" possibilities in other autoimmune illnesses, according to analysts.

Vertex said late Wednesday that it will buy Alpine for $65 a share, which RBC said was a premium of about 67% to the closing price a day earlier. Alpine's shares were surging more than 36% before the opening bell Thursday, while Vertex was little changed.

"We see this deal as highlighting the 'pipeline in a product' play and strong commercial potential of ALPN's lead candidate," said RBC Capital Markets analysts including Gregory Renza in an e-mailed note.

The candidate, povetacicept, "has demonstrated potential best-in-class attributes in IgA nephropathy and has a broad development potential across a number of other autoimmune inflammatory conditions with significant unmet need," said Mitchell Gold, Alpine's chief executive. IgA nephropathy is a progressive and life-threatening kidney disease, according to the company.

"VRTX sees IgAN alone as a multi-billion-dollar market," said Wedbush Securities analysts including Robert Driscoll in a note Thursday. "But with established clinical capabilities can invest substantially more in povetacicept development across B-cell mediated diseases, including lupus and autoimmune cytopenias."

B-cells are a type of white blood cell that produces antibodies and are part of the immune system, according to the US government's National Cancer Institute. Povetacicept has "lucrative prospects in broader autoimmune indications," RBC's Renza said.

The treatment is expected to enter a phase 3 study in the second half of this year, the companies said. The acquisition deal is expected to be completed in the second quarter of this year, they said.

Price: 398.58, Change: +1, Percent Change: +0.25