Acacia Research Corporation announced that its Combimatrix group has entered into an agreement to acquire one third ownership of Leuchemix, Inc., a private drug development firm which is developing several compounds for the treatment of leukemia and other cancers. In consideration for the equity ownership, CombiMatrix will provide Leuchemix, a total of $4 million, paid quarterly over the next two years.
The equity will be in the form of preferred stock, and Dr. Amit Kumar, CombiMatrix's CEO will become a director of Leuchemix.
Leuchemix is developing a series of small molecules that have shown efficacy against various Leukemias and solid tumours in animal models. These molecules are designed to be cytotoxic to cancerous cells as well as to precursors of such cells. The first indication will be Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML), which is a malignant disease of the bone marrow. Additional indications addressed will be other hematological diseases such as Chronic Myelogenous Leukema, Myeloma and Lymphoma. Animal efficacy has also been shown for solid tumors such as breast and prostate cancer.
Dr. William Matthews, president and CEO of Leuchemix, stated, "Leuchemix is delighted to close its Series A financing and looks forward to a strong relationship with CombiMatrix. This equity funding will allow us to accelerate our drug discovery programs with our initial goal being to file our first IND in 2005."
"We are pleased to be involved with Leuchemix. This transaction demonstrates our continued expansion into the drug development arena," stated Dr. Amit Kumar, president and CEO of CombiMatrix. "We look forward to progress at Leuchemix, and we will seek to utilize CombiMatrix's capabilities and products in aiding Leuchemix whenever possible."
Dr. Kumar added, "While we are very excited about the prospects of the DNA Microarray, Biodefense, and Nanotechnology thrusts of our business, we continue to see tremendous opportunities to invest in drug development. External investment in firms such as Leuchemix, will complement the internal efforts we have undertaken in the area of siRNA drug discovery and development. We are pleased to be executing on our strategy with this transaction which will provide us with a significant ownership position in a promising company."