OnCore adds to HBV pipeline with Enantigen

HBV play OnCore Biopharma Inc. (Doylestown, Pa.) acquired infectious disease company Enantigen Therapeutics Inc. (Doylestown, Pa.) in an all-cash deal of undisclosed size. OnCore gains two HBV programs, an s-antigen secretion inhibitor and a capsid assembly inhibitor. OnCore CEO Patrick Higgins declined to give the stages of development of the two programs.

OnCore was founded by a group of former Pharmasset Inc. executives, including one credited with inventing Sovaldi sofosbuvir before the biotech was acquired by Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD). Last month, OnCore licensed the sangamide-based cyclophilin inhibitor NVP018 from NeuroVive Pharmaceutical AB (SSE:NVP) (see BioCentury, Sept. 15). ...