Deals Shaping the Medical Industry (2/2012)

The Dealmaking column is a survey of recent transactions, including strategic alliances, mergers & acquisitions, and financings, in the life sciences industries. Deals are listed by the following industry sectors: in vitro diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and research/analytical instrumentation and reagents. All transactions are excerpted from Elsevier's Strategic Transactions database, providing comprehensive transaction coverage from 1991 to the present.

In one of two companion diagnostics deals it signed on the same day, Roche Diagnostics Corp.’s Ventana Medical Systems Inc. (tissue analysis) will create a test for oncology drug developer AEterna Zentaris Inc.’s AEZS108 for the immunohistochemical determination of luteinizing hormone-release hormone (LHRH) receptor expression. (Jan.)

AEterna will use this diagnostic to select ideal patients for AEZS108, a Phase II formulation of doxorubicin which is conjugated to a synthetic peptide (zoptarelin) that directs chemotherapy specifically to LHRH-positive tumors, and avoids healthy cells. To date, AEZS108 has been studied in advanced endometrial, advanced ovarian, castration-refractory prostate, and refractory bladder cancers. (For the ovarian cancer indication, the candidate has orphan drug status in the US and EU.) AEterna also plans to develop AEZS108 for triple-negative breast cancer

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