Sangamo BioSciences agrees purchase of Ceregene
Provides portfolio of AAV assets Including manufacturing, regulatory and intellectual property and a Phase II trial in Alzheimer\'s disease
US drugmaker Sangamo BioSciences has agreed to buy Ceregene, a privately held developer of adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapies, for an undisclosed sum.
Sangamo has acquired all of San Diego-based Ceregene's AAV assets including CERE-110, AAV delivery of nerve growth factor (NGF) to the brain for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, which is under evaluation in a Phase II trial.
'Ceregene is a leader in development and manufacturing of AAV-based therapies with significant clinical development experience,' said Edward Lanphier, Sangamo's president and CEO. 'Since its inception in 2001, the company has safely treated more than 115 subjects in four clinical trials.'
Ceregene's assets also include a database of AAV GMP manufacturing know-how, toxicology data, and safety data from human clinical trials, which Sangamo said would be an invaluable resource as it makes progress with its ZFP Therapeutics.
Under the terms of the agreement Sangamo will issue to Ceregene shareholders 100,000 shares of common stock (worth about US$1m), which represents less than 0.2% of Sangamo's total shares outstanding. In addition, Sangamo has agreed to make payments to Ceregene shareholders based on revenues generated from certain Ceregene products.
The deal is expected to close next month (September), subject to customary closing conditions.
