Celsion, Egen deal
Celsion will acquire fellow cancer company Egen in a cash and stock deal worth up to $44.4 million. Egen will receive an upfront payment of $3.4 million in cash and $10.6 million in Celsion stock, or about a 16.4% stake in Celsion. Egen shareholders also will be eligible for up to $30.4 million in milestones. Celsion will gain Egen's EGEN-001, an IL-12-expressing plasmid formulated with a lipopolymeric gene delivery system that is in Phase Ib testing to treat ovarian cancer, along with three technology platforms: TheraPlas for the delivery of DNA and mRNA therapeutics; TheraSilence for the delivery of synthetically generated short interfering RNAs, microRNAs and miRNA mimics; and RAST for cell-enabled expression and secretion of RNA.
Celsion said the deal complements its lead candidate, ThermoDox, which comprises doxorubicin encapsulated in a heat-activated liposome. ThermoDox is in the Phase III HEAT trial to treat non-resectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and is in Phase II testing for recurrent chest wall breast cancer. ...