CancerVax agrees to merge with Micromet

Three months after poor Phase III data forced it to suspend work on its lead drug candidate, Carlsbad-based CancerVax has agreed to team up with Germany's Micromet in a buyout valued at $126.7 million. The deal gives Micromet better access to the U.S. market as well as a preclinical candidate for solid tumors. Micromet stockholders will own approximately 67.5 percent of the combined company after the deal is completed. R&D work will be consolidated in Germany.

"This transaction will allow Micromet to access U.S. capital markets, which is essential in our efforts to accelerate the development of our novel, antibody-based drug compounds based on our proprietary BiTE, or bi-specific T cell engager, and single-chain antibody drug development platforms," said Christian Itin, Ph.D., CEO of Micromet. "It also strengthens our management team and financial position, allows us to leverage CancerVax's existing U.S. public company infrastructure, and adds to our product development portfolio." 

- see this article for more on the proposed CancerVax-Micromet merger