BioCentury
ARTICLE | Strategy

Selling out to reach the finish line

January 7, 2008 8:00 AM UTC

Investors in Hormos Medical Corp. decided in 2005 that they were better off putting the Finnish company's compounds in the hands of an acquirer with clinical development skills than getting more funding at a reduced valuation. They got the initial signal that their bet may pay off last week, as acquirer QuatRx Pharmaceuticals Co. reported positive top-line results from a Phase III trial of Ophena ospemifene to treat vaginal atrophy in postmenopausal women.

For QuatRx, the deal advanced and deepened its product pipeline by bringing two clinical-stage compounds: Ophena, a small molecule selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) that was in Phase II testing at the time of the deal, and fispemifene, a selective estrogen antagonist that stimulates testosterone release in androgen-deficient elderly men. Fispemifene was in Phase I testing when the companies merged. ...