NEW YORK – Denmark-based Oncology Venture said on Monday that it has acquired all remaining shares of Oncology Venture US (formerly 2X Oncology), granting it full ownership of the 2X-121 PARP inhibitor program and the 2X-111 program.
Both drugs are being investigated in cancer patients harboring biomarkers detected by Oncology Venture's drug response predictor (DRP) platform.
Oncology Venture Sweden AB, originally a spin out of Denmark and Phoenix, Arizona-based Medical Prognosis Institute, launched its own company focused on precision medicine for women's cancers in 2016, called 2X Oncology. Oncology Venture Sweden owned a majority stake in 2X Oncology, and MPI also invested in the firm. Then, in 2018, MPI and Oncology Venture Sweden merged to form Oncology Venture, and 2x Oncology became Oncology Venture US.
In the latest transaction, Oncology Venture purchased the remaining 16 percent of the shares of Oncology Venture US from external shareholders and warrantholders, valued at $1,750,000, which will be converted into Oncology Venture shares. The 3,800 vested warrants, priced at $235,872, will also be converted into Oncology Venture shares.
In total, 37 external shareholders and warrantholders of Oncology Venture US will receive 12,383,770 shares. The new shares don't provide any special rights.
In a statement, Oncology Venture said this was an important step in its strategy "to eliminate external ownership of its key assets and retain maximum value of its priority programs."
2X-121 is a small molecule PARP inhibitor the company in-licensed from Eisai. Oncology Venture is using its DRP companion diagnostic to identify and select patients for clinical trials who are most likely to respond to the drug. The DRP is tumor agnostic and can identify responders across multiple cancer types, including ovarian and pancreatic.
2X-121 is currently being evaluated for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer in a DRP-guided Phase II clinical trial at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and has enrolled eight out of its target 30 patients so far. Oncology Venture is also looking to open a second study site at Guy's Hospital in London.
2X-111 is being developed in various anticancer indications under a license agreement with Smerud Medical Research International. The DRP diagnostic will also be used in this program to select patients most likely to benefit.
"Our acquisition of the remaining commercial rights in these programs now provides our company and our shareholders with the full potential upside of these promising therapeutics, as we bring them towards the market and to cancer patients," Oncology Venture CEO Steve Carchedi said in a statement.
The product in Oncology Venture's pipeline that is closest to market is dovitinib. The company recently said it plans to file a new drug application for dovitinib as a third-line option for renal cell carcinoma patients most likely to benefit based on the DRP tool.