Shares up over Vion anti-viral licensing
By Wayne E. Travers Jr., New Haven Register Staff
NEW HAVEN : Shares of Vion Pharmaceuticals rose 13 percent Tuesday after the company said it will license its rights to develop a hepatitis B and HIV drug candidate to a start-up firm.
Thomas E. Klein, Vion's vice president of finance and chief financial officer, said the company has signed a licensing agreement with Achillion Pharmaceuticals to produce and market Vion's anti-viral drug candidate, known as beta-L-Fd4C.
Vion shares closed Tuesday at $13.44, up $1.75. They trade on the Nasdaq exchange under the VION ticker symbol.
Over the past 90 days, the daily trading volume of Vion shares had averaged 285,000, Klein said, but was 'closing in on a million' by the end of trading Tuesday.
The day's final tally saw 999,500 shares changing hands.
Achillion is a new, privately held firm co-founded by Yale University. It is concentrating on discovering anti-viral drugs to treat diseases such as hepatitis and herpes as well as human immunodeficiency virus, according to its President and Chief Executive Officer William G. Rice.
Rice said Achillon will fund the development of beta-L-Fd4C, which the firm foresees as one of its major drug candidates.
Vion, which held exclusive worldwide rights to develop the anti-viral compound, will receive payments and royalties as well as an equity stake in Achillion, Klein said.
The companies did not disclose dollar figures.
Hepatitis affects more than 300 million people globally and can lead to other health problems, such as liver cancer. Preclinical studies have shown beta-L-Fd4C to be more effective than similar antiviral drugs, Vion officials said.
Vion is also developing several disease-fighting technologies, including a treatment known as TAPET, which uses strains of the salmonella bacteria, normally associated with food poisoning, to carry cancer-fighting enzymes into tumors.
Vion President and Chief Executive Officer Alan Kessman said the licensing agreement 'allows Vion to focus on the development of our anti-cancer treatments.' |
