Novartis International AG is to acquire Spinifex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a company focused on the development of new drugs for the treatment of chronic pain, for an upfront cash consideration of US$200m.
The deal also included undisclosed clinical development and regulatory milestone payments. The acquisition, expected to close in H2 2015, subject to the receipt of clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and customary closing conditions, is focused on Spinifex’s lead candidate EMA401, a novel angiotensin II type 2 (AT2) receptor antagonist, being developed as a potential oral treatment for chronic pain, particularly neuropathic pain, without central nervous system (CNS) side effects.
Novartis will continue the development of EMA401 and is planning to initiate Phase 2b clinical trials in patients with PHN or PDN. It also intends to build on these two key indications and pursue a broad peripheral neuropathic pain (PNP) label for EMA401.
Led by Tom McCarthy, President and Chief Executive Officer, Spinifex is an US-Australian biotechnology company developing new drug candidates for the treatment and management of chronic pain.
Established in 2005 and based in Stamford, Connecticut and Melbourne, Australia, Spinifex has been backed by Novo A/S, Canaan Partners, GBS Venture Partners, Brandon Capital Partners, Uniseed and UniQuest (University of Queensland, Australia).
FinSMEs
29/06/2015