OXiGENE Agrees To Acquire Symphony ViDA

OXiGENE, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics to treat cancer and eye diseases, is all set to acquire all of the equity of Symphony ViDA, in exchange for six million newly-issued shares of OXiGENE common stock.

OXiGENE and Symphony have negotiated new terms for the purchase option agreement, entered into on October 1, 2008. Under the terms of the new amended and restated agreement, the company will re-acquire all rights to the ZYBRESTAT for ophthalmology and OXi4503 programs, that are currently licensed to Symphony ViDA.

In addition, approximately $12.5 million in cash currently held by Symphony ViDA will become available for use for OXiGENE’s general corporate purposes (including funding development of its pivotal trial-stage drug candidate, ZYBRESTAT for oncology).

John Kollins, CEO of OXiGENE, said: “We expect this important step to drive value for all shareholders by enabling us to more efficiently allocate our capital resources across all of our drug development programs. At the same time, we regain rights to the ZYBRESTAT for ophthalmology and OXi4503 programs and eliminate OXiGENE’s future funding obligations of up to $15 million to Symphony ViDA.”

Mark Kessel, Founder and Managing Director, Symphony Capital, said: “The additional investment we’re making in OXiGENE under this agreement reflects our continued confidence in the Company, its management, and its prospects for success in developing novel and valuable anti-vascular therapeutics for cancer and eye diseases.”