Aphton Corporation to Acquire igeneon

24-Mar-2005

Aphton Corporation announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire igeneon, a privately held biopharmaceutical company based in Vienna, Austria that is focused on the development of immunotherapy-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. Pursuant to the agreement, igeneon stockholders will receive 21.5 million shares of Aphton common stock in exchange for 100% of the equity of igeneon. Based on the closing price of Aphton's common stock on December 14, 2004, the value of the deal would be approximately $81 million. The transaction has been independently reviewed and approved by the boards of both companies and is contingent upon approval by a majority of voting Aphton stockholders.

With the signing of this transaction, Aphton takes a significant step toward implementing its strategy of expanding its oncology-focused business. igeneon offers a promising pipeline with late-stage products and an experienced research and development organization. igeneon's pipeline significantly augments Aphton's late-stage development program in immunotherapy-based therapeutics, including its lead product, Insegia(TM) (G17DT immunogen), for the treatment of gastric and pancreatic cancers. igeneon has multiple therapeutic programs addressing significant unmet medical needs in oncology. igeneon's lead product IGN101 is currently in late stage clinical trials for the treatment of non-small cell lung and colon cancer.

Dr. Patrick Mooney, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aphton commented, "Through this acquisition, we not only gain an experienced team, but we create a pipeline and infrastructure that we expect to provide the foundation for sustainable growth in a competitive commercial oncology business. We see igeneon's lead products IGN101 and IGN311 as an important complement to our ongoing programs led by Insegia(TM), for which we anxiously await pivotal clinical trial data."

igeneon's product portfolio will serve as a solid complement to Aphton's development pipeline that is focused on pursuing direct immunotherapy approaches to the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Immunotherapy may have certain advantages over other targeted therapies by including specificity that may lead to better efficacy and decreased toxicities for patients. Aphton's lead product Insegia is currently in a Phase III randomized, double-blind, clinical trial administered in combination with gemcitabine, for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer. This study is fully enrolled and the results continue to be blind to the company.

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