Cancer Genetics (CGIX) has now announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire contract research organization vivoPharm for $12 million.
This transaction will significantly strengthen CGI’s position as a premier leader for oncology discovery, in vivo and in vitro drug development and early phase clinical trial testing for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
With over a decade of experience in delivering a wide range of discovery and preclinical services to support drug development, target validation and biomarker analysis, vivoPharm has supported over 200 IND submissions for innovative therapies, with a significant focus on immuno-oncology.
“This accretive acquisition immediately strengthens our market position as the premier partner for oncology therapeutic and diagnostic development while furthering our mission to change patient outcomes and improve industry insight into the mechanisms of oncology,” said Mr. Panna Sharma, President and CEO of Cancer Genetics, Inc. “Partnering with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to continue advancing our market share in oncology testing and diagnostics has been a proven approach in the development of CGI. vivoPharm furthers our biopharma strategy and adds capabilities to enable our strategy to rescue and repurpose oncology drugs while providing us enhanced, revenue-generating capabilities across a broad and globally diverse client base.”
The purchase price is approximately USD $12
million, which will include USD $1.2 million in cash and the remaining 90% will be shares of CGI common stock based on the volume weighted average price (VWAP) over the last 20 business days. The transaction has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies. Additionally on August 14, CGI entered into an equity financing arrangement for up to USD $16 million to fund the acquisition, and increase working capital for general corporate purposes. The initial tranche of funding will be USD $3 million, and additional tranches can be accessed by CGI at the company’s discretion over the next 2 years.“We are looking forward to making significant market impact by combining vivoPharm’s unique value proposition of integrated preclinical, safety and biomarker profiling, both in vitro and in vivo, with Cancer Genetics and a team at the forefront of precision oncology development,” said Dr. Ralf Brandt, CEO and Managing Director of vivoPharm. “Our teams are dedicated to working closely together to deliver a complete end-to-end solution from discovery and early development through companion diagnostic development and patient monitoring. The business of our customers and partners will be strengthened by the expanded reach, investment and capability of the joint companies.”
vivoPharm has developed industry recognized capabilities in early phase development and discovery, especially in immuno-oncology models, tumor micro-environment studies, specialized pharmacology services, and PDx (patient derived xenograft) model studies that support basic discovery, preclinical and phase 1 clinical trials. It presently serves over forty biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies across five continents in over 55 studies and trials with highly specialized development, clinical and preclinical research.
The vivoPharm team is led by Dr. Ralf Brandt and will be fully integrated as the flagship in CGI’s Discovery Services offering with Dr. Brandt serving as the President of CGI Discovery & Early Development Services.
The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive, adding both revenue and income. The combination is expected to create considerable business opportunities in both pre-clinical studies and immuno-oncology clinical trials, to further accelerate CGI’s strategy to be the premier partner of choice for oncology innovation and development from bench to bedside.
