Sorrento Therapeutics To Buy ACEA Therapeutics For $38M In Stock

Vandana Singh
·1 min read

  • Sorrento Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: SRNE) has agreed to acquire ACEA Therapeutics Inc in an all-stock deal of $38 million in shares of Sorrento common stock.

  • Sorrento will also pay the ACEA up to $450 million in additional milestone payments and 5-10% royalty of the annual net sales.

  • The acquisition will include late clinical-stage drug Abivertinib, AC0058, AC0939, and ACEA's extensive proprietary library of small molecules (over 1,000,000 compounds).

  • Lead candidate abivertinib is a small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor that selectively targets both a mutant form of the epidermal growth factor receptor and Bruton's tyrosine kinase. It is currently being studied as a Phase 2 treatment for COVID-19-induced respiratory compromise in the U.S. and Brazil.

  • AC0058 a BTK inhibitor, is currently in a Phase 1b trial for Lupus patients in the U.S.

  • The acquisition will also include ACEA's facility located in Quzhou, China, on a 23-acre campus with five buildings.

  • The facility currently can manufacture up to 5,000 kg/year of APIs and 50 million capsules of the final drug product.

  • The merger is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021.

  • Price Action: SRNE shares gained 1.5% at $8.13 in market trading on the last check Monday.

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