Oncothyreon Acquires Alpine Biosciences
Biotech firm Oncothyreon has acquired Washington-based Alpine Biosciences together with its protocells technology for the development of new drug candidates against cancer and rare diseases.
Protocells is a nanoparticle platform technology built to allow the specific delivery of several therapeutic agents including peptides, small molecules, and nucleic acids, among others. The technology was originally developed by the University of New Mexico (UNM), the UNM Cancer Center, and Sandia National Laboratories.
As part of the agreement, Oncothyreon issued an estimated 9.3 million shares of its common stock in exchange for Alpine’s outstanding stocks. The transaction is valued at around $27 million, though no further financial terms of the agreement were disclosed by either company.
Robert L. Kirkman, President and CEO of Oncothyreon, said that the transaction takes the company a step closer to its goal of becoming a fully integrated biotech firm with the ability to develop new drugs. Kirkman said that Oncothyreon is particularly interested in cancer immunotherapy among others. Indeed, the company signed into collaboration with Celldex Therapeutics earlier this year for a clinical trial investigating a combination immunotherapy comprised of ONT-10 and varlilumab.
“We believe the acquisition of Alpine and its protocell technology brings to Oncothyreon a delivery platform with the potential to revolutionize multiple therapeutic fields… We also intend to seek partners to work with us to develop product candidates in other fields, including gene therapy, siRNA and mRNA therapy, enzyme replacement, and the targeted delivery of toxins,” said Kirkman.
Dr. Jay Venkatesan, Co-Founder and CEO of Alpine, said, “I am looking forward to joining Oncothyreon to help transform the treatment of cancer and rare diseases… I also believe in the potential of Oncothyreon's existing pipeline, including ONT-380 for HER2-positive breast cancer, and the immunotherapeutic product candidates, tecemotide and ONT-10.” Dr. Venkatesan will join Oncothyreon as EVP and General Manager for the protocell development program.
The company declared that it will use the technology to develop new drug leads either on its own or with other partners.