Wyeth division buys Thiakis Limited, British biotech company

COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. A division of Wyeth has purchased a British biotech developing a drug for obesity.

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals announced Thursday that it had acquired Thiakis Limited, which is developing TKS1225, a synthetic version of the gastrointestinal peptide oxyntomodulin for treating obesity and related disorders.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Wyeth will buy Thiakis for about $30 million and might further pay up to $120 million on achievement of certain development milestones.

“This acquisition is evidence of our commitment to develop and bring to market innovative, high-value medicines that have the potential to address significant unmet needs in critical therapeutic areas such as metabolic disorders,” Wyeth Research president Mikael Dolsten said.

“Thiakis’ research and development program fits well with our goal of addressing the medical burden of obesity in a targeted manner using biologic-based therapies.”