Essential Therapeutics Signs Definitive Agreement To Acquire Maret Pharmaceuticals
WALTHAM, Mass., March 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Essential Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ETRX - news) announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Maret Pharmaceuticals in a stock-for-stock exchange. Maret is a development stage pharmaceutical company with clinical and preclinical programs focused in hematology, oncology and the prevention of serious infectious diseases. Maret's programs include a small molecule lead product for restoring blood cell counts following myeloablative therapies, currently in Phase I clinical trials. Potential clinical uses for the lead product candidate include the prevention of thrombocytopenia, anemia and infection in myelosuppressed patients following chemotherapy or bone marrow transplantation. In addition, Maret's discovery platform includes a series of preclinical programs targeted at other serious clinical conditions with significant unmet therapeutic need.
``We are extremely excited about the acquisition of Maret Pharmaceuticals,'' said Mark Skaletsky, CEO of Essential Therapeutics. ``As Essential manages its transition into a development-stage company, Maret's lead clinical product and preclinical programs represent significant assets that are a great fit with our existing portfolio of anti-infective development products and programs. It is our goal to bring pharmaceutical products directly to market that fit our core competence in commercializing products for life threatening diseases.'' Skaletsky added, ``We will continue to actively pursue strategic initiatives that will maximize the likelihood of success for accelerating our commercialization goals.''
Leonard Borrmann, President and CEO of Maret, commented ``The combination of Essential's core competencies in lead optimization and preclinical development with Maret's development candidates and clinical expertise creates a powerful combined entity with a strong product pipeline. We look forward to joining with Essential to provide products to improve human health in important therapeutic categories.''
Maret Pharmaceuticals is a privately-owned, venture-backed company based in Newport Beach, California. Maret's corporate operations and certain key personnel will be relocated to Essential Therapeutics headquarters in Waltham, MA. The transaction will be structured as a merger and is intended to be accounted for under the purchase method of accounting. In connection with the transaction, Essential Therapeutics will issue up to 2 million shares of common stock. These newly issued shares are subject to a lock-up for at least 12 months following the close. Completion of the transaction is expected within the next month and is subject to customary closing conditions.
Essential Therapeutics is committed to the discovery and development of breakthrough biopharmaceutical products for the treatment of life-threatening diseases. With an emerging pipeline of lead programs and product candidates in the anti-infective and hematology/oncology therapy areas, Essential Therapeutics is dedicated to commercializing novel small molecule products addressing important unmet therapeutic needs. Additional information on Essential Therapeutics can be obtained at essentialtherapeutics.com... |
