Avalanche acquires Annapurna
Avalanche Biotechnologies Inc. (NASDAQ:AAVL) will acquire Annapurna Therapeutics S.A.S. (Paris, France), gaining four preclinical gene therapy programs outside of ophthalmology. Annapurna shareholders will receive 17.6 million new Avalanche shares, worth about $105.6 million based on Avalanche's $6 close on Friday before the deal was announced. Avalanche shareholders will own 62.5% of the combined company, and Annapurna shareholders will own the remainder.
The combined company will have a total of nine preclinical gene therapy programs. On a conference call Monday, Annapurna CEO Amber Salzman said the plan is to start clinical studies this year of lead program ANN-001, a gene therapy to treat alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). Annapurna also has programs to treat Friedreich's ataxia-associated cardiomyopathy, hereditary angioedema (HAE) and severe allergies. Annapurna licensed exclusive rights to the AATD, HAE and allergy programs last month from Weill Cornell Medical College (see BioCentury Extra, Jan. 5). ...