Deals Shaping The Medical Industry, February 2013

Amarantus BioScience Holdings Inc. (biologics and tests for CNS and cardiovascular diseases) is acquiring all of the IP assets of its partner and now bankrupt diagnostics company Power3 Medical Products Inc. (formerly publicly traded) for $40k. (Dec.)

Power3, which was founded in 1992, has in-licensed multiple assets from and formed several collaborations with academia--including the University of Thessaly, MD Anderson, and Mercy Women’s Center--in the protein biomarker field related to cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, which are both linked to apoptosis. The company created NuroPro, a 59-protein biomarker blood serum panel (designed via a 2004 collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine) that diagnoses Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and ALS. In January 2012, Power3 licensed Amarantus exclusive global rights to NuroPro in the Parkinson’s area. Their deal included an option for Amarantus to acquire all of Power3’s Parkinson’s-related assets, and a right of first refusal on other NuroPro diagnostics for Alzheimer’s and ALS. NuroPro is intended to be a companion diagnostic to Amarantus’ preclinical protein therapeutic AMRS001 (mesencephalic-astrocyte neurotrophic factor). Amarantus will continue to work with Essam Sheta, PhD, Power3’s former CLIA laboratory director, to prepare for NuroPro’s Phase II validation study to gain CLIA certification. Besides NuroPro, Power3 had also developed the BC-SeraPro proteomic test for breast cancer, and the diagnostic had completed Phase I trials. The current transaction includes the following patents that have been issued to Power3: 12/802,630 (Diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease); 13/118,175 (Assays for diagnosis and therapeutics..