Biogen to acquire Conforma for $150 million

By Elaine Rigoli

Tampa, Fla., May 3 - Biogen Idec said it will acquire all the issued and outstanding capital stock of Conforma Therapeutics Corp. for $150 million, payable at closing, and will pay up to an additional $100 million upon the achievement of certain development milestones.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter.

Conforma has advanced two compounds into phase 1 clinical trials: CNF1010, a proprietary form of the geldanamycin derivative 17-AAG; and CNF2024, a totally synthetic, orally bioavailable HSP90 inhibitor.

"Conforma's platforms in the promising area of HSP90 antagonists provide significant opportunities to develop drugs for a range of solid tumors. Through this transaction, Biogen Idec will also broaden our therapeutic opportunities in the cancer field while adding Conforma's talented scientific team to our oncology group," Biogen president and chief executive officer James C. Mullen said in a news release.

Conforma's North American and European rights to Amrubicin, an anthracycline anticancer drug that Conforma had licensed from Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd., will be transferred out of Conforma into a new start-up specialty pharmaceuticals company, Cabrellis Pharmaceuticals Corp., prior to the close of this transaction, the release said.

Conforma Therapeutics, a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company, is focused on the design and development of novel drugs for the treatment of cancer.

Based in Cambridge, Mass., Biogen develops oncology, neurology and immunology therapies.

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