Date: 2015-02-13
Type of information: Company acquisition
Acquired company: ActoGenix (Belgium)
Acquiring company: Intrexon (USA - MD)
Amount: $ 60 million
Terms: * On February 13, 2015, Intrexon Corporation, a leader in synthetic biology, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ActoGeniX, a Belgian clinical stage biopharmaceutical company. Pursuant to the definitive agreement, ActoGenix’ shareholders will receive approximately $ 30 million in cash and $ 30 million in Intrexon common stock. Consummation of the transaction, anticipated in the first quarter, is subject to customary closing conditions. In September 2006 and February 2007, Gimv and Biotech Fonds Vlaanderen acted as co-lead investor in a series-A funding round of ActoGenix, which totaled €20 million. As part of this round, Gimv and Biotech Fonds Vlaanderen together committed € 8 million. Gimv also participated in subsequent capital rounds of ActoGenix in 2009 and 2013.
Details: Established as a spin-off from VIB (the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology) and the University of Ghent in June 2006, ActoGenix focuses on the development and commercialization of ActoBiotics™, a novel class of orally available biopharmaceuticals for the targeted treatment of severe diseases with a high medical need. ActoBioticsTM represent a novel concept for oral administration of therapeutic proteins, and are designed to be safer and more effective than injectable biopharmaceuticals. Intrexon’s exclusive channel collaborators currently utilize the Company’s suite of technologies in cellular and gene therapies for cancer, orphan genetic disorders, blindness, infectious diseases, tissue repair, as well as synthetic biology-mediated production of APIs. The addition of the ActoGeniX platform brings two more clinical stage assets to the Intrexon portfolio, and complements the broadest collection of tools available for current and future partners to enable innovative solutions for the next generation of biotechnology. ActoGeniX’s clinical stage products include AG013 which delivers a therapeutic peptide for the prevention and attenuation of oral mucositis, and AG014 which secretes anti-TNFα Fab to treat inflammatory bowel disease with localized delivery minimizing systemic exposure. Data from the AG013 Phase IB trial were published in the journal Cancer, and the Phase I PK study of AG014 indicated the product is safe and well tolerated while providing prolonged gastrointestinal exposure. Other ActoBiotics™ under development have shown positive efficacy data in animal models for allergic diseases, type 2 diabetes, as well as autoimmune disorders such as celiac disease and type 1 diabetes. With respect to type 1 diabetes, data on the effect of an ActoBiotic™ expressing the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 combined with the auto-antigens pro-insulin or GAD-65 in an animal model have been published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation as well as Diabetes. ActoGeniX recently partnered with Stallergenes to develop first-in-class class oral allergy treatments after a successful Proof of Principle study, and also has preclinical programs for the targeted modulation of the human microbiome, whose imbalances are implicated in many disease areas.
Its proprietary TopAct™ platform enables the molecular engineering of food-grade microbes (Lactococcus lactis) to generate biologically-contained ActoBiotics™ for in situ expression and secretion of novel biotherapeutic proteins and peptides including cytokines, enzymes, hormones, and monoclonal antibodies to the oral and gastrointestinal tract. This groundbreaking class of orally available biopharmaceuticals will facilitate targeted therapies against oral, gastrointestinal, metabolic, allergic and autoimmune diseases.
Related: Gastrointestinal diseases Immunological diseases Metabolic diseases Synthetic biology
