Thursday, February 17, 2011 7:52:33 AM
Adventrx uses stock to buy sickle cell treatment
By Keith Darcé
Tuesday, February 15, 2011 at 8:52 a.m.
A sickle cell and a healthy red blood cell as seen under a microscope.
San Diego drug developer Adventrx Pharmaceuticals said Monday that it will use 40 percent of its stock to purchase Houston-based SynthRx and its experimental treatment for a painful blockage of blood vessels in people with sickle cell anemia.
“I believe this acquisition will be remembered as a transformative one for Adventrx,” Brian Culley, the company’s chief executive officer, said during a conference call with stock analysts.
Shares of Adventrx rose 5 cents, or more than 2 percent, to close Monday at $2.21.
The company revealed the deal was in the works in January but withheld the name of the acquisition target and other details.
Owners of SynthRx will receive 4 percent of Adventrx’s stock as an upfront payment. The rest of the shares will be delivered when the Food and Drug Administration accepts a new drug application for the Houston company’s main drug candidate and approves the therapy for sale.
Privately held SynthRx owns an experimental molecule known as poloxamer 188, which was originally tested as a heart attack medication but ran into trouble when contaminants related to the drug’s manufacturing process caused kidney problems.
SynthRx revived 188 in a purified form as an experimental treatment for sickle cell crisis, but the company ran out of money midway through a Phase 3 clinical trial and largely shelved the therapy in 2004.
Sickle cell crisis occurs when deformed red blood cells begin to pile up in the blood vessels that supply oxygen to organs and tissue. The condition causes pain, can damage the eyes and kidneys, and can trigger brain hemorrhaging and strokes.
The SynthRx drug, which has received an orphan drug designation from the FDA, is a molecule that lowers the surface tension of water in the blood, making the cells more slippery and less prone to clumping, Adventrx said.
There is no FDA-approved treatment for the condition.
The ability of 188 "to loosely bind and, almost like a Band-Aid, cover the hydrophobic region of the (red blood) cell and enhance viscosity, allows the cell to continue to deliver oxygen without the logjam effect," Culley said.
Adventrx initially will seek clearance to prescribe the drug to children, Culley said. Testing the treatment in adults is more challenging because pain resulting from sickle cell crisis often is hard to distinguish from chronic pain often associated with the broader disease, he said.
A Phase 3 trial could start in early 2012, and the company expects to spend up to $25 million bringing 188 to market, he said.
After raising $50 million in investor funding over the last 18 months, Adventrx won't have any problem covering those development costs, Culley said.
"I think we're really in a good position," he said.
keith.darce@uniontrib.com (619) 293-1020 Twitter @keithdarce
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/feb/15/adventrx-uses-stock-buy-sickle-cell-treatment/
.
By Keith Darcé
Tuesday, February 15, 2011 at 8:52 a.m.
A sickle cell and a healthy red blood cell as seen under a microscope.
San Diego drug developer Adventrx Pharmaceuticals said Monday that it will use 40 percent of its stock to purchase Houston-based SynthRx and its experimental treatment for a painful blockage of blood vessels in people with sickle cell anemia.
“I believe this acquisition will be remembered as a transformative one for Adventrx,” Brian Culley, the company’s chief executive officer, said during a conference call with stock analysts.
Shares of Adventrx rose 5 cents, or more than 2 percent, to close Monday at $2.21.
The company revealed the deal was in the works in January but withheld the name of the acquisition target and other details.
Owners of SynthRx will receive 4 percent of Adventrx’s stock as an upfront payment. The rest of the shares will be delivered when the Food and Drug Administration accepts a new drug application for the Houston company’s main drug candidate and approves the therapy for sale.
Privately held SynthRx owns an experimental molecule known as poloxamer 188, which was originally tested as a heart attack medication but ran into trouble when contaminants related to the drug’s manufacturing process caused kidney problems.
SynthRx revived 188 in a purified form as an experimental treatment for sickle cell crisis, but the company ran out of money midway through a Phase 3 clinical trial and largely shelved the therapy in 2004.
Sickle cell crisis occurs when deformed red blood cells begin to pile up in the blood vessels that supply oxygen to organs and tissue. The condition causes pain, can damage the eyes and kidneys, and can trigger brain hemorrhaging and strokes.
The SynthRx drug, which has received an orphan drug designation from the FDA, is a molecule that lowers the surface tension of water in the blood, making the cells more slippery and less prone to clumping, Adventrx said.
There is no FDA-approved treatment for the condition.
The ability of 188 "to loosely bind and, almost like a Band-Aid, cover the hydrophobic region of the (red blood) cell and enhance viscosity, allows the cell to continue to deliver oxygen without the logjam effect," Culley said.
Adventrx initially will seek clearance to prescribe the drug to children, Culley said. Testing the treatment in adults is more challenging because pain resulting from sickle cell crisis often is hard to distinguish from chronic pain often associated with the broader disease, he said.
A Phase 3 trial could start in early 2012, and the company expects to spend up to $25 million bringing 188 to market, he said.
After raising $50 million in investor funding over the last 18 months, Adventrx won't have any problem covering those development costs, Culley said.
"I think we're really in a good position," he said.
keith.darce@uniontrib.com (619) 293-1020 Twitter @keithdarce
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/feb/15/adventrx-uses-stock-buy-sickle-cell-treatment/
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