Targeted acquisition

Targeted Genetics Corp.'s $67 million stock purchase of Genovo Inc. has added a big partner to TGEN's alliance portfolio. But despite the potential benefits of a new collaboration with Biogen Inc., TGEN maintains that the primary goal of the acquisition was to add upstream technology that will speed up the gene therapy company's drug discovery efforts and provide more tools for accessing the functional genomics space.

In the first instance, the deal announced last week will complement TGEN's adeno-associated virus (AAV) production technology (see B3). "Our distinct competency is manufacturing large-scale quantities of AAV," said TGEN President and CEO H. Stewart Parker. "What Genovo has is a new approach that gives small quantities of AAV products that can be used for target validation."...