A joint research project over the past year has impressed dermatology-focused Aclaris Therapeutics enough to buy out St. Louis startup Confluence Life Sciences.

The Malvern firm still working on its first FDA-filed drug treatment for the seborrheic keratosis skin disorder paid Confluence $20 million in cash and stock, with another $80 million possible for hitting future milestones, according to a Philadelphia Business Journal report by John George and Brian Feldt.

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“Confluence is at the forefront of innovation in the discovery and development of new compounds and new approaches to treating patients with severe and debilitating autoimmune and inflammatory diseases,” said Aclaris President and CEO Neal Walker.

“The acquisition enables Aclaris to solidify its existing position in inflammatory/autoimmune skin disorders and expand into relevant adjacent therapeutic areas. The acquisition is a significant step forward in building a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company.”

Confluence also offers its KINect technology to help discover new drug possibilities based on the enzyme kinase.

Read more about the new acquisition in the Philadelphia Business Journal here, and check out previous VISTA Today coverage of Aclaris here.

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