Exiqon, Oncotech, Merck deal

EXQ will acquire Oncotech for 6.2 million shares valued at DKK225.7 million ($44.9 million) based on EXQ's close of DKK36.40 on Nov. 26, the day before the deal was announced. Oncotech shareholders will own about 20% of the company.

EXQ said the acquisition will allow it to enter the molecular diagnostics market. Oncotech's lead product is its Extreme Drug Resistance (EDR) Test cell-based diagnostic, which is marketed in the U.S. to identify drug resistance in cancer patients. EXQ expects to launch a new diagnostic that combines Oncotech's tests with EXQ's locked nucleic acid (LNA) technology and its microRNA (miRNA) biomarkers by the end of 2008. The deal is expected to close next month. ...