Johnson & Johnson Completes Acquisition Of Aragon Pharma

(RTTNews) - Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) said Monday that it has completed its acquisition of Aragon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held pharmaceutical discovery and development company focused on drugs to treat hormonally-driven cancers.

In June, Johnson & Johnson agreed to buy Aragon Pharmaceuticals in a deal for up to $1 billion. Development of compounds from Aragon's androgen receptor antagonist program, including its lead androgen receptor signaling inhibitor, ARN-509, will be managed by Janssen Research & Development, LLC.

"The acquisition strengthens our prostate cancer pipeline with a second-generation, potentially best-in-class compound," said Peter Lebowitz, Global Therapeutic Area Head, Oncology. "It builds on our existing leadership position with ZYTIGA (abiraterone acetate), and, if approved, we are hopeful ARN-509 will allow us to meet the needs of an even broader range of prostate cancer patients."