Chi,
To paraphrase your last post:
Any stock can be an eligible aquisition target and may be seen as a takeover candidate by any big pharmaceutical company.
Why not NERX? It had good news with Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) this week about a cancer treatment.
Tuesday August 12 8:30 AM EDT
Company Press Release
Source: NeoRx Corporation
NeoRx and Janssen Sign Strategic Alliance for Avicidin(R)
Cancer Therapy
SEATTLE, Aug. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- NeoRx Corporation (Nasdaq:NERX) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), for the worldwide development, manufacture and distribution of NeoRx's Avicidin(R) cancer therapy product. Avicidin, in Phase I/II clinical trials for solid tumors (lung, colon, breast and prostate), employs the Company's proprietary Pretarget(TM) technology for delivering radiation therapy to tumor cells while minimizing exposure to normal tissue.
NeoRx receives $10 million up front, of which fifty percent is for the purchase of equity, and may receive up to an additional $50 million in payments for achieving certain milestones. Janssen Pharmaceutica has agreed to assume responsibility for registration and commercialization of the product and to fund an estimated ninety-five percent of the remaining costs for product development and clinical trials. In exchange, Johnson & Johnson receives a worldwide exclusive license to
Avicidin and the right of first negotiation to subsequent oncology products employing the Company's Pretarget technology. Additional oncology products that fall under this agreement will trigger royalty
obligations and may result in additional milestone payments to NeoRx. NeoRx has retained broad development and marketing rights for the Pretarget technology.
``With our recently reported results of tumor regressions from just one Avicidin dose in patients with advanced, chemotherapy-resistant prostate, colon and ovarian cancers, and with its wide range of
potential applications in cancer therapy, the Avicidin agent is at the stage to benefit from the resources, development expertise and global reach of a company such as Johnson & Johnson,'' said Paul G. Abrams, M.D., J.D., NeoRx President and CEO.
In connection with this agreement, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation will purchase $5 million of NeoRx Convertible Preferred Stock that will convert to NeoRx Common Stock at $6.00 per share in the event that the average closing price, as determined in accordance with the stock purchase agreement, equals or exceeds $6.00 per share or, if no such conversion occurs prior, on August 8, 1998 at the then average closing price.
Avicidin employs NeoRx's proprietary Pretarget technology that involves the separate administration of antibodies that target tumors, and radiation or other therapeutic agents that join the antibody at the metastatic tumor sites and kill tumor cells. By separating these injections, exposure of normal tissue to the therapeutic is reduced and the efficacy of the therapy may be enhanced. In a Phase I/II trial of Avicidin, patients with various types of solid tumors, including lung, colorectal, ovarian, and prostate cancers that have failed standard treatments have received doses up to 100 mCi/m2 of yttrium-90, or approximately five times the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of the conventional approach of radioimmunotherapy. The MTD for Avicidin has not yet been reached.
NeoRx Corporation, headquartered in Seattle, develops therapeutic products to treat cancer and cardiovascular disease. Products in development include Avicidin(R) cancer therapy, and Biostent(R) agent designed to prevent restenosis after balloon angioplasty. The Company is also conducting a Phase I dosing study of a drug designed to inhibit atherosclerosis. The Verluma(TM) small cell lung cancer imaging agent developed by NeoRx Corporation, is marketed by the
Radiopharmaceuticals Division of The DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Company.
Visit NeoRx on the web at www.neorx.com
SOURCE: NeoRx Corporation |
