Bluebird Bio, once a rising star in biotech, has sold itself to private equity firms Carlyle and SK Capital for roughly $30 million.
The move marks a dramatic downturn for a company that once commanded a $9 billion market cap but found itself on the brink of financial collapse.
Shareholders will receive $3 per share, with the potential for an additional $6.84 per share if Bluebird’s therapies generate $600 million in sales over any 12-month period by 2027.
The stock tumbled 40% on Friday following the announcement, closing a chapter of high hopes and deep struggles.
For over three decades, Bluebird pursued cutting-edge gene therapies designed to cure genetic disorders with a single treatment.
But a series of scientific and financial setbacks, along with a costly separation of its cancer division into 2Seventy Bio, left the company struggling financially.
The turning point came in 2018 when Bluebird flagged that a patient treated for sickle cell disease developed cancer.
Though Bluebird determined its therapy wasn’t the cause, the incident raised concerns over the safety of DNA-modifying treatments, casting a long shadow over the field.
The company also faced resistance in Europe after pricing Zynteglo, its gene therapy for beta thalassemia, at $1.8 million per patient.
With insurers balking, Bluebird withdrew the treatment from the European market in 2021 to focus on the U.S.
Approvals followed for Zynteglo, Lyfgenia for sickle cell disease, and Skysona for cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, but none were able to resolve the company’s financial troubles.
Despite securing regulatory approvals, Bluebird’s gene therapies struggled to turn medical breakthroughs into sustainable revenue.
The company had been burning through hundreds of millions annually, and spinning off its oncology assets cut off a crucial income stream.
By November, Bluebird warned its cash reserves would only sustain operations into early 2024. The sale price is a stark contrast to the $80 million that former CEO Nick Leschly earned from selling company stock during his tenure.
The broader gene therapy sector is facing an existential reckoning. Vertex’s competing sickle cell gene therapy, Casgevy, has experienced a sluggish launch, and Pfizer just announced plans to halt sales of a hemophilia gene therapy approved only last year due to weak demand.
Bluebird’s treatments remain transformative for patients, but they weren’t enough to save the company itself. Its story underscores a harsh reality in the business of biotech: scientific breakthroughs alone don’t guarantee commercial success.
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