Cell Medica acquires Delenex Therapeutics AG

Imperial Innovations Group plc notes today's announcement by portfolio company Cell Medica of its acquisition of Delenex Therapeutics AG ('Delenex') based in Schlieren, Switzerland.

Cell Medica is a cellular immunotherapy company, focused on the development, manufacture and marketing of cell-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancers and infectious disease. As at 31 January 2016, the Group had a 27.0% interest in the issued share capital of the Company with such interest having a net fair value of £21.0 million.

Delenex is a privately held, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of locally and systemically applied antibody therapeutics. Delenex's proprietary PENTRA®Body technology, which enables the rapid development of antibody therapeutics suitable for various routes of administration, will be integrated within the Company's development programme to create next-generation cellular immunotherapies with improved functionality and specificity. 

Delenex's scientific team and the company's Schlieren laboratory facilities will be maintained within Cell Medica's global R&D operations.

The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

The acquisition of Delenex follows Cell Medica's recent announcement of a significant collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine for the development of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-based cellular immunotherapies. 

Russ Cummings, CEO at Imperial Innovations, said:

"This acquisition, which is a major step forward for the business, combined with the recent collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine, serves to highlight the scale of Cell Medica's ambition. 

"Delenex Therapeutics provides a key enabling technology to help develop a pipeline of next generation CAR-modified immunotherapies.  

"The management team, with its operations in the UK, US, Germany and Switzerland, has now built a strong platform from which to deliver the strategic plans to become a world-leader in cell therapy."