Cambridge Antibody Technology has agreed to pay up to $16 million for two cancer drug candidates from Genencor, a subsidiary of Danisco in Palo Alto, CA. $14 million will be paid on closing. GCR-3888 has shown efficacy in a Phase I clinical trial and is currently in a Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of hairy cell leukemia. GCR-8015 is an optimized version of GCR-3888. As part of the deal, CAT also hired 10 researchers engaged in the drugs' development.

"The acquisition of these product candidates is a significant step forward, accelerating the development of our proprietary pipeline," said Peter Chambre, CEO of CAT. "In particular, they signal our intention to focus our proprietary research and development activities in oncology indications, where we believe the opportunities are greatest for a company of CAT's resources and technological capabilities."

- read this AFX report for more