Celgene acquiring Acetylon after spinout of newco

Acetylon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Boston, Mass.) said Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ:CELG) will acquire it for undisclosed terms. Prior to the deal's completion, Acetylon will spin out some histone deacetylase (HDAC) assets into newco Regenacy Pharmaceuticals LLC (Boston, Mass.).

Celgene will gain rights to Acetylon's lead candidates, oral HDAC6 inhibitors ricolinostat (ACY-1215) and citarinostat (ACY-241), in oncology, neurodegeneration and autoimmune indications. Both are in development for multiple myeloma (MM). In June, Acetylon said ricolinostat in combination with Celgene's Pomalyst pomalidomide and dexamethasone produced an overall response rate of 46% in a Phase II study to treat relapsed or refractory MM. ...