Simulations Plus clears U.S. antitrust review for Altaris deal

Simulations Plus Inc. said it has received clearance from U.S. antitrust regulators for its planned acquisition of Altaris Therapeutics.

The drug development software provider, based in Lancaster, California, did not disclose further details of the review process but confirmed that the clearance removes a key hurdle to completing the $180 million deal. The company previously announced the agreement in March, under which it would acquire Altaris, a developer of AI-driven drug discovery platforms.

Simulations Plus said it expects to finalize the transaction in the coming months, subject to customary closing conditions. The acquisition aligns with the company’s strategy to expand its portfolio of computational tools for pharmaceutical research and development.

Altaris, headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, specializes in machine learning applications for early-stage drug discovery. The deal would add Altaris’s proprietary platforms to Simulations Plus’s existing suite of simulation software used by biopharmaceutical companies.

Simulations Plus did not provide an updated timeline for the deal’s completion but reiterated its commitment to closing the transaction once all regulatory and operational requirements are met.