Johnson & Johnson to acquire autoimmune disease specialist Momenta for $6.5-B

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) will acquire Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc for about $6.5 billion to boost its portfolio of autoimmune disease treatments.

The deal would give J&J's Janssen unit access to Momenta's experimental therapy, Nipocalimab, already in its late-stage testing for hemolytic anemia, which destroys healthy red blood cells; and also in its mid-stage testing for neuromuscular disease dubbed myasthenia gravis.

Nipocalimab is expected to be approved as a treatment to several conditions.

J&J said Nipocalimab has the potential for peak year sales that could exceed $1 billion

The biotech and pharmaceutical sectors have recently seen 829 deals valued at $62 billion this year, compared with 839 valued at $290 billion in the same period last year.

J&J's acquisition comes just days after French firm Sanofi closed a $3.7 billion deal to acquire Principia Biopharma Inc for autoimmune disease treatments.

Autoimmune treatments have fetched sales worth billions of dollars, with
AbbVie Inc.'s Humira being the global leader in sales.