SYGNIS acquires Amnestix Inc.
SYGNIS strengthens its position with access to discovery capabilities of the Translational Genomics Research Institute
SYGNIS Pharma AG announced that it has acquired privately-owned US biopharmaceutical company Amnestix Inc. As part of the acquisition, SYGNIS will gain access to a broad range of CNS projects within the world-renowned Translational genomics Research Institute (TGen, Phoenix, AZ). SYGNIS will pay approximately EUR4 million in cash and shares for Amnestix.
Amnestix was founded by scientists from TGen in 2006, with seed funding from the Brain Trust Accelerator Fund to develop novel therapeutics for improving cognition and memory, which are impaired in a broad spectrum of neurological diseases. The founders of Amnestix, Dr. Dietrich Stephan and Dr. Matthew Huentelman, have discovered a series of novel patentable genes and pathways that play a fundamental role in memory performance in humans using a strategy called whole genome association analysis. Their findings uncovered novel proprietary utilities of protein kinase inhibitors for the treatment of neurological conditions such as cognitive impairment, vascular dementia and others. SYGNIS will continue to pursue the therapeutic development of these compounds which show promise in the field of age-related memory impairment, Alzheimer's disease and other neurological diseases. Detailed mechanistic knowledge is vital to develop disease-modifying agents, as well as to target treatments and thus maximize efficacy for patients.
Dr. Alfred Bach, CEO of SYGNIS Pharma AG, said: "This is an important milestone in the growth and development of our company. The acquisition of Amnestix, with its powerful CNS drug discovery engine, complements our CNS R&D capabilities. Furthermore, it opens direct access to the leading neurogenomic expertise of TGen, and the wider CNS experts in the US, through the Amnestix founders. This unique combination will strengthen and accelerate our ability to build and broaden our innovative neurotherapeutic drug pipeline."
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