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news.US-based oncology drug development firm Celsion has completed the acquisition of EGEN, including its Phase Ib product candidate EGEN-001 and therapeutic platform technologies, TheraPlas, TheraSilence and RAST.
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As part of the deal, Celsion’s subsidiary CLSN Laboratories has acquired all assets and assumed certain specified liabilities of EGEN.
At the closing, Celsion issued $8.5m worth of common stock, paid about $3m in cash to EGEN, and holds back $2.1m worth of common stock until 02 August 2016 for expense adjustment and certain indemnification claims of Celsion.
Apart from the upfront payment, over $30m in future milestone obligations are payable to EGEN if Celsion successfully completes certain clinical developments and licensing.
The combination of the two firms will create a fully integrated, oncology-focused research and development company with a multi-phase clinical pipeline, platform technologies for the discovery of new, nucleic acid-based immunotherapies and other anti-cancer DNA/RNA therapies, and expertise from bench to bedside.
EGEN-001 is an IL-12 plasmid immunotherapy encased in a nanoparticle delivery system and is currently in Phase Ib ovarian cancer trials.
The acquisition complements Celsion’s ThermoDox, a proprietary heat-activated liposomal encapsulation of doxorubicin.
In this transaction, Cantor Fitzgerald served as financial advisor, while Sidley Austin and O’Melveny & Myers as legal counsel for Celsion.