BioCentury
ARTICLE | Company News

AKTivate Therapeutics, Virax deal

November 3, 2014 8:00 AM UTC

Virax will acquire AKTivate Therapeutics for $300,000 in cash and 134 million shares up front valued at A$1.3 million ($1.2 million) and up to 100 million additional shares valued at A$1 million ($879,400) tied to clinical milestones. Virax gains TCN-P, a tricyclic nucleoside inhibitor of protein kinase B ( PKB; PKBA; AKT; AKT1) phosphorylation that is in Phase Ib/II testing for breast cancer and in Phase Ib testing for ovarian cancer. AKTivate has exclusive, worldwide rights to TCN-P from Cahaba Pharmaceuticals (Princeton, N.J.).

Virax plans to start a Phase Ib trial of TCN-P for leukemia in early 2015. Virax said clinical milestone payments are based upon TCN-P displaying greater than 50% pathological complete response in breast cancer; greater than 30% overall response rate (ORR) in ovarian cancer; and greater than 40% ORR in leukemia. ...