Baxter Acquires ApaTech

Baxter International Inc. will enter the bone fusion market through its acquisition of ApaTech, maker of the bone graft Actifuse, for up to &dollar;330 million, in a deal announced last month. Baxter will pay &dollar;240 million up front, plus up to &dollar;90 million in milestone payments. The total is worth up to 5.5 times ApaTech's sales of &dollar;60 million last year. Actifuse “will allow us to immediately enter the emerging bone fusion category, and ApaTech's product pipeline is highly complementary to our existing commercial and technical capabilities in biosurgery,” said Ron Lloyd, vice president and general manager of Baxter's BioTherapeutics and Regenerative Medicine. Actifuse is a silicate-substituted, calcium-phosphate synthetic bone graft material that combines a biostimulative scaffold with chemical properties that accelerate bone formation, according to ApaTech. Actifuse formulations include microgranules for small graft areas and E-Z Prep, which forms a cohesive graft in 20 minutes when mixed with blood or bone marrow aspirate. According to Andrew Lewis, a spokesperson for Baxter, the overall U.S. bone growth substitutes market is worth &dollar;1.5 billion, and the synthetic bone growth substitutes segment reached &dollar;145 million in 2009. The deal also will allow Baxter to gain access to ApaTech's global sales force, half of which is based in the United States.

Envoy, Merck Team for Research

Envoy Therapeutics Inc. has entered into a multiyear research collaboration agreement with an affiliate of Merck and Co. to explore novel diabetes and obesity drug targets. Envoy will use its bacTRAP technology to identify proteins expressed specifically in certain cell types, and Merck, which will provide an upfront fee and research funding, will develop compounds that modulate protein targets with therapeutic potential for the treatment of metabolic disorders. “Obesity and diabetes have become epidemics with horrific mortality rates and devastating social stigmas,” said Brad Margus, cofounder and CEO of Envoy. “We're thrilled that our technology will be applied toward discovering drug candidates for the growing millions of patients who suffer from these conditions.” Envoy will be eligible to receive payments at certain milestones associated with drug candidate development and royalties on any products resulting from the collaboration. “Partnering with companies developing innovative drug discovery technologies … is an essential part of our diabetes and obesity portfolio discovery strategy,” said Nancy A. Thornberry, senior vice president and franchise head for diabetes and obesity at Merck Research Laboratories.

Atherotech Taps Heart Experts

Atherotech Inc., maker of the VAP cholesterol test, which identifies markers for the metabolic syndrome, has added eight cardiovascular experts to its medical advisory board to guide the development of the company's disease management program. The new team comprises Dr. Eliot A. Brintman, director of the metabolism section of cardiovascular genetics and the LDL apheresis center at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City; Dr. Michael H. Davidson, director of preventive cardiology at the University of Chicago; Prakash C. Deedwania, chief of cardiology for the VA Central California HealthCare System, Fresno; Dr. Gary H. Gibbons, endowed director of Morehouse School of Medicine's Cardiovascular Research Institute, Atlanta; Dr. Peter H. Jones, medical director of the Methodist Weight Management Center in Houston; Dr. Richard B. Lanman, chief medical officer of Veracyte Inc., a molecular diagnostics company in South San Francisco, Calif.; Dr. Charles A. Reasner II, medical director of the Texas Diabetes Institute in San Antonio; and Dr. Peter B. Toth, chief of medicine at CGH Medical Center in Sterling, Ill. “Collectively, [they] have more than 150 years of clinical research, nearly 1,000 publications, and over 200 years of clinical patient care,” said Dr. Michael E. Cobble, Atherotech's chief medical officer. In addition to the VAP cholesterol test, Atherotech has more than a dozen cardiovascular and metabolic tests, including those for high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2, apoE genotype, N-terminal–pro brain natriuretic peptide, cystatin C, T3 and T4, and gamma-glutamyl transferase.

Unigene Restructures to Meet Debts

Unigene Laboratories, maker of Fortical, a nasal calcitonin treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis, has restructured its debt financing agreement with Victory Park Capital Advisors, its primary shareholder and lender. The deal buys time for Unigene to pay off its debt and adds &dollar;13.6 million to its balance sheet. The family-owned biopharmaceutical company agreed to major management change and gave Victory two seats, including chairmanship, on its board of directors. Unigene's chairman, Jay Levy, relinquished his board seat and Ronald S. Levy, secretary, left that position but stayed on as executive vice president, according to the terms of the agreement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The regulatory filing also states that Unigene “is obligated to use its reasonable best efforts to identify, interview, and negotiate with candidates for, and, subject to the board's approval, hire a new chief executive officer as successor to Warren Levy as soon as reasonably practicable.” Victory Park Capital's principal and founder, Richard N. Levy (no relation to the Levy family that runs Unigene), stepped in as chairman. Unigene reported a 2009 net loss of &dollar;13.4 million, more than double its 2008 net loss of &dollar;6.1 million. Unigene is currently focused on the development of salmon calcitonin in nasal and oral formulations for postmenopausal osteoporosis, Paget's disease, and hypercalcemia.

Reporters and editors from Elsevier's “The Pink Sheet” contributed to this column.

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