Date: 2016-03-18
Type of information: Company acquisition
Acquired company: Magnis Therapeutics
Acquiring company: Omnis Pharma
Amount: undisclosed
Terms: * On March 18, 2016, Omnis Pharma and Magnis Therapeutics announced their strategic merger to form Vyriad, a clinical-stage oncolytic immunovirotherapy development company. The combined companies' product development pipeline encompasses multiple clinical-stage and late preclinical-stage products targeting a broad range of human cancer indications, including a Phase 1 development program partnered with a large pharmaceutical company. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The combined company will be led by the existing Omnis and Magnis management teams, with Stephen Russell, MD, PhD, serving as President and CEO. Dr. Russell is a Professor of Molecular Medicine and Consultant Hematologist at Mayo Clinic Rochester. He was formerly the Dean for Discovery and Experimental Research across Mayo Clinic and the founder of Cambridge Genetics. Dr. Russell is credited with orchestrating the first-in-human testing of oncolytic measles and vesicular stomatitis viruses.
Details: Vyriad is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel oncolytic virus therapies for the treatment of cancers that have significant unmet need. Vyriad's oncolytic immunovirotherapy products are based on the company's engineered Oncolytic Vesicular Stomatitus Virus (VSV) and Oncolytic Measles Virus platforms that enable selective destruction of cancer cells without harming normal tissues. Vyriad's product development pipeline encompasses multiple clinical- and preclinical-stage programs that target a broad range of cancer indications as well as programs that pair the company's oncolytic viruses with other cancer immunotherapy modalities, traditional cancer therapy, and newer targeted therapies. In addition, Vyriad is developing novel diagnostic/ theranostic tests for more accurate prediction of immunovirotherapy response. Clinical trials using the company's oncolytic viruses are under way at Mayo Clinic and the University of Arkansas. Vyriad partnership agreements include a licensing agreement with MedImmune/AstraZeneca focused on pairing Vyriad's oncolytic VSV virus with a checkpoint inhibitor created by MedImmune; and a collaborative research and development agreement with Profectus BioSciences focused on developing oncolytic recombinant VSV vaccines for cancer immunotherapy.
Related: Cancer- Oncology
