Newton Biotech Company Acquired by Global Firm

AesRx, a Newton-based biotech company that's developing a drug to treat sickle cell disease, was acquired by Baxter International, a global healthcare company.

Baxter made the announcement in a news release Wednesday. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

AesRx developed Aes-103, a drug that it called the "most promising" treatment for sickle cell disease. It's currently being used in clinical trials.

"It offers the possibility of truly modifying the course of (sickle cell disease) and changing the lives of SCD patients," the company said in a statement.

"By becoming a part of Baxter's organization, we believe this will provide Aes-103 the needed resources and expertise to complete a robust development and commercialization program," Stephen Seiler, AesRx's founder, said in a statement.

"With this acquisition, we gain a compound that has the potential to address an extremely high unmet clinical need in a community with inadequate treatment options and no recent major clinical developments," said Ludwig Hantson, president of Baxter BioScience, in a statement. "This program is complementary to our established experience in hemophilia and supports our goals to raise the bar for care of patients with a range of blood-related disorders."