Pharmexa to acquire GemVax and finance Phase III trials in pancreatic cancer
Pharmexa is to acquire Norwegian company GemVax, which focuses on on the development of peptide vaccines, which are innovative immunotherapeutic anticancer drugs.
Pharmexa is to acquire Norwegian company GemVax, which focuses on on the development of peptide vaccines, which are innovative immunotherapeutic anticancer drugs.
The acquisition broadens Pharmexa's clinical pipeline and may allow it to bring its first product to market several years sooner than originally anticipated.
GemVax's most advanced vaccine, GV1001, has demonstrated promising results in clinical trials with pancreatic cancer patients, and in a number of small Phase I clinical studies has also demonstrated prom-ising results in a number of other cancer types. Phase III studies with GV1001 are expected to begin next year, Pharmexa predicts.
GV1001 may become a drug with a considerable potential, Pharmexa believes, as the vaccine targets Telomerase, which is generally considered an almost universal anticancer target. It will also move Pharmexa a big step closer to bringing its first product to market.
Pharmexa intends to launch a rights issue shortly after its AGM at the end of April, which is expected to raise Dkr150-320m. The minimum proceeds will provide Pharmexa with the additional capital to finance the advancement of GemVax's clinical programmes, including the two phase III studies which have an es-timated cost of DKr120m, as well as additional clinical trials of GV1001 at an estimated cost of DKr30m. if the rights issue raises the maximum proceeds, Pharmexa will be able to finance the combined business of Pharmexa and GemVax until the end of the first half of 2008.
'We aim to position Pharmexa as a world leader in the field of active immunotherapy. This requires a broad, well-diversified clinical project portfolio and a broad technological base and patent position,' said ceo Jakob Schmidt. 'With our AutoVac platform, Pharmexa already has a very strong technology with which to develop immunotherapeutic products based on antibodies.
'GemVax's peptide vaccine technology will enhance our position in the area of immunotherapy which is focused on T-cells and their involvement in the fight against cancer cells. GemVax's patent portfolio also provides us with key patent positions on Telomerase and RAS, two of the most promising cancer targets.'