Dallas-based Access Pharmaceuticals has inked a deal to buy Somanta Pharmaceuticals, an Irvine, CA-based biotech with four cancer therapies in development. One of those therapies is in Phase II. Somanta shareholders will get about 13 percent of the shares of the combined company.
"The proposed acquisition of Somanta is very exciting for Access from a number of perspectives," stated Stephen R. Seiler, Access' President and CEO. "Somanta comes with four very interesting anti-cancer compounds, one of which is already in Phase 2 clinical trials. Each compound acts by a novel mode of action, and one represents a novel platform technology. As a result, the combined Access and Somanta will have a broad cancer-focused portfolio which will include one approved product, two drug candidates in Phase 2 trials and three novel and exciting pre-clinical products. Our goal has always been to make Access a leader in the oncology space and this acquisition fills out our product pipeline extremely well."
- see the release on the acquisition deal