Kevin Lind, Biotech Serial CEO, Details Longboard Pharmaceuticals $2.6B M&A Deal — and What's Next
Longboard CEO Details Decision to Sell Publicly-Traded Rare Disease Company
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Kevin Lind, President and CEO at Longboard Pharmaceuticals, began his career working as an investment banker — helping biotechnology companies raise capital and facilitate M&A partnerships.
He then spent a decade working in private equity at TPG, investing in the life sciences industry ranging from pharmaceuticals to medical devices.
After his stint working in private investing, Mr. Lind was the first chief financial officer at Arena Pharmaceuticals, a San Diego-based biopharma firm founded in the late 1990s. Most notably, Arena was acquired for $6.7 billion by Pfizer in 2021.
“Arena Pharmaceuticals was an pretty amazing place to work, because we took that company from a $200 million market cap and sold it for about $7 billion along the way,” said Lind, who credited Amit Munshi, former President and Chief Executive Officer at Arena Pharmaceuticals for helping turnaround and leading the company to a successful exit for shareholders and employees.
“Arena had really amazing molecules and our goal was to move those along, give them the best chance to demonstrate their value,” said Lind. “Fortunately for everyone, those molecules had clinically and commercially differentiated products.
Few life science CEOs in San Diego have a track record as strong as Mr. Lind — and the financial success it brings — in December we had the opportunity to chat with him to learn more about why Lundbeck offered $2.6 billion to buy the company.
Founding Story
Longboard Pharmaceuticals, founded in October 2020, was focused on developing treatments for neurological and rare diseases.
When the company was incorporated, the biotech raised $56 million financing from Farallon Capital Management, and other top healthcare investors.
Longboard leveraged compounds from Arena Pharmaceuticals — which allowed it accelerate its plans to become a publicly-traded firm by March 2021.
Bexicaserin, its lead drug candidate, currently in Phase 3 trials as of 2024, was designed to reduce seizure activity in specific types of epilepsy. It received breakthrough designation from the FDA — which drew interest from big Pharma.
“It’s important to start with the right molecule. Our molecules had different characteristics built into them — greater selectivity and specificity. The goal was to have fewer side effects and more on target effects.
We hired an amazing team — smart employees who understood Epilepsy incredibly well. San Diego companies like Zogenix, GW Pharmaceuticals allowed us to acquire talent over time.
We were then able to build upon our understanding and think creatively about how to best move it forward. We felt compelled to get our drug into the clinic and be studied in patients.”
“This transformative transaction will become a cornerstone in Lundbeck’s neuro-rare franchise, with a potential to drive growth into the next decade,” said Charl van Zyl President and Chief Executive Officer at Lundbeck.
Multi-Billion M&A Deal in 4 Years
In December 2024, Lundbeck a global drugmaker based in Denmark, finalized the deal to acquire Longboard Pharmaceutical for $2.6 billion. The company had about 50 full-time employees at the time.
The pharmaceutical giant believes Longboard’s lead asset has potential to become a blockbuster product helping treat patients with Dravet syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, among other rare epilepsies.
There are over 20 types of rare brain disorders, which affect roughly 220,000 people in the U.S., half of which lack an effective treatment option with few side effects.
Longboard’s Bexicaserin is expected to launch in 2028. Peak global sales could be between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, according to Lundbeck.
“We had interest early on in the year,” said Lind. “We then got close to the regulatory decision and thought it made sense to pause and see what the FDA was going to say. We were incredibly pleased that the FDA granted us breakthrough designation and that also helped increase the offer price. We're incredibly pleased with the outcome.”
Thoughts on San Diego’s Biotech Ecosystem
When it comes to delivering shareholder value through M&A, Longboard Pharmaceuticals will be a local case study for years to come.
Longboard was the second largest biotech acquisition on record in 2024, behind Rayzebio which was acquired for $4.1 billion by Bristol Myers Squibb last year.
In the U.S., it was a relatively slow year for M&A deals in the biotech space, as 2024 did not report seeing a M&A deal exceed $5 billion. At least one happened over the past seven years previously, according to Biopharmadive.
Mr. Lind, told me over the phone that he enjoys working in the field of life science and looks forward to starting his next company — after taking a sabbatical over the next six to twelve months. The call wrapped up with him crediting his team and the entire San Diego ecosystem for its unwavering support.
“San Diego has a very collaborative approach. People are rooting for each other to win that I find incredibly refreshing and helpful,” said Lind. “I've had so many people help us out along the way. You can't credit success to just me and my team. Its the entire ecosystem that has been incredibly valuable here.”