Date: 2012-07-09
Type of information: Company acquisition
Acquired company: 40% of VCN Bioscience (Spain)
Acquiring company: Grifols (Spain)
Amount: undisclosed
Terms: Gri-Cel, the investment vehicle of Grifols, a Spanish group, specializing in the hospital-pharmaceutical sector, has acquired a 40% equity share of VCN Biosciences, a Catalan biotechnology firm focused on the development of new cancer treatment agents based on highly selective oncolytic adenoviruses.
Details: VCN Bioscience’s most advanced project focuses on the treatment of pancreatic cancer. In 2011 this product named VCN-07 has received orphan drug designation in the UE (See http://biopharmanalyses.fr/product/?pageid=363). Grifols’ participation in the equity of VCN Biosciences will enable the firm to continue to develop this new therapeutic approach, currently at the preclinical phase and scheduled to enter the clinical phase in 2013.
Following the operation, VCN Bioscience plans to relocate from its current offices at the Biopol complex in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat to Grifols’ corporate facilities at Sant Cugat del Vallès in the medium term.
Private investment to guarantee the development of innovative viral therapy to fight cancer
VCN Biosciences currently has exclusive rights of two patent licenses for independent technologies developed by the viral therapy group of the Catalan Oncology Institute (ICO-IDIBELL). These enhance the anti-tumor potential of oncolytic adenoviruses. One of these, the hyaluronidase technology, is incorporated in VCN Biosciences’ most advanced clinical candidate: VCN-01, for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. In addition, design and development of other viral candidates constitute promising alternatives for the treatment of refractory tumors.
Related: Cancer-Oncology
