Genentech, Tanox deal

DNA said it plans to acquire TNOX for $20 per share in cash, or $919 million. The offer is a 47% premium to TNOX's $13.64 closing price on Nov. 9, before the deal was announced. DNA said the deal would improve its profits from asthma drug Xolair omalizumab, which it jointly developed with TNOX and Novartis AG (NVS; Basel, Switzerland). DNA would no longer pay royalties for the humanized MAb against IgE and would get TNOX's profit share payments and royalties from NVS. At Sept. 30, TNOX reported nine-month royalty and profit-sharing revenues of $33.4 million. NVS is conducting a Phase III study of Xolair in pediatric allergic asthma patients, while DNA is running a Phase IIb trial in peanut-allergic subjects.

TNOX's pipeline includes TNX-355, a MAb against CD4 that is in Phase II testing to treat HIV/AIDS; TNX-650, a MAb against interleukin-13 (IL-13) in Phase I testing for Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and moderate to severe asthma; and TNX-832, an anti- tissue factor chimeric antibody in Phase I/II testing for acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome. ...