EntreMed Inc has entered into a definitive merger agreement under which it will acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of Miikana Therapeutics, Inc. at approximately $21.2 million.

In addition, EntreMed may pay up to an additional $18 million upon the achievement of certain clinical and regulatory milestones. Such additional payments will be made in cash or shares of stock at EntreMed's option. The acquisition does not require regulatory approvals and is expected to close in January 2006, claims a company release.

The acquisition of Miikana will expand and complement EntreMed's oncology franchise. Miikana's oncology pipeline includes clinical and pre-clinical drug candidates which include MKC-1, an orally-active, novel, small molecule, cell cycle inhibitor with a unique mechanism of action; MKC-1693, an aurora kinase inhibitor and MKC-1704, a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor.

EntreMed president and CEO, James S. Burns, said "The acquisition of Miikana is a logical step in EntreMed's growth and represents an important milestone in achieving our goal of building a sustainable oncology and inflammation franchise. Miikana has a complementary pipeline of clinical and preclinical programs that will further strengthen EntreMed's position in multi-mechanism oncology therapies."

Burns further commented, "We spent considerable time this year looking at opportunities to broaden our pipeline with product candidates that fit our expertise in cell cycle regulation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis. With the addition of Miikana's programmes, EntreMed's 2006 potential clinical milestones include multiple phase 2 trials for Panzem NCD, multiple phase 2 trials for MKC-1, and phase 1 trials for ENMD-1198. This clinical line-up, plus anticipated IND filings in 2006, continues our transition as a development- oriented company with next generation drugs to treat cancer and inflammatory diseases."

Miikana has an oncology pipeline that includes both in-licensing clinical and preclinical compounds with distinct mechanisms of action, and generates medicinal chemistry-driven internal discovery projects based on specific established targets.

EntreMed Inc. is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing therapeutic candidates primarily for the treatment of cancer and inflammation.