Medigene, Trianta deal

Medigene acquired Trianta in a deal worth up to €9.5 million ($13.1 million). Trianta was spun out of German research center Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen GmbH (Neuherberg, Germany) late last year. Medigene gains three T cell immunotherapy programs, including an autologous dendritic cell vaccine platform in Phase II testing in prostate cancer and in Phase I/II testing for acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). The other programs are preclinical-stage platforms for modifying T cell receptors to enhance tumor immunity and for generating mAbs that directly target T cell receptors to treat T cell leukemias and autoimmune disease. In connection with the deal, Trianta Managing Director Dolores Schendel will join Medigene as CSO, effective May 1 (see BioCentury, Jan. 20). ...