Monday Deal Review - June 15, 2015

Welcome to your Monday Biotech Deal Review for June 15th, 2015!

This week, InSite Vision announced that it will be acquired in an all-stock transaction by QLT Inc., a Vancouver-based biotech company specializing in ocular products. In financing news, Endo International PLC closed its previously reported share offering, generating gross proceeds of $2.3 billion.

Continue reading for more details on these stories as well as the rest of the week’s Biotech highlights in the Monday Deal Review!

InSite Vision Inc. (OTCBB:INSV) announced that it has reached a definitive agreement with QLT Inc. (NASDAQ:QLTI)(TSX:QLT) under which QLT will acquire InSite in an all-stock transaction that will create an ophthalmic specialty pharmaceutical company with a diversified portfolio of products, full R&D capabilities and innovative platform technologies. The newly formed company will be incorporated in Canada and led by a combined InSite Vision and QLT leadership team. With operations in Alameda, California and Vancouver, British Columbia, and headquarters in Vancouver, the new company will retain the name of QLT, and will continue to trade on NASDAQ under the ticker “QLTI” and on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the ticker “QLT”.

Endo International PLC (NASDAQ:ENDP) (TSX:ENL) (the “Company” or “Endo”) announced the closing of its previously announced registered offering of ordinary shares (the “Offering”). Pursuant to the Offering, the Company issued 27,627,628 ordinary shares, including 3,603,603 ordinary shares sold upon the exercise in full by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional ordinary shares from the Company, at a price of $83.25 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $2.3 billion. The Company expects to use the net proceeds of the Offering, together with the proceeds of additional indebtedness and cash on hand, to fund the previously announced acquisition of Par Pharmaceutical Holdings, Inc. (“Par”), as well as repayments of indebtedness of Par and certain transaction expenses.  The Company intends to use any remaining proceeds for general corporate purposes, including acquisitions and debt repayments. If the Par acquisition is not consummated, the Company plans to use the net proceeds of the Offering for general corporate purposes, including acquisitions and debt repayments.

Knight Therapeutics Inc. (TSX:GUD) (“Knight” or the “Company”), a leading Canadian specialty pharmaceutical company, announced today that it has received a distribution of US$13.6 million related to its investment in Sectoral Asset Management Inc.’s (“Sectoral”) New Emerging Medical Opportunities Funds II, Ltd. (“NEMO II”) as part of a partial distribution of the fund. In June 2014, Knight announced a US$13 million commitment to NEMO II of which US$11.8 million has been deployed to date. This investment into NEMO II is part of Knight’s innovative sourcing strategy designed to gain preferred access to Canadian innovative pharmaceutical product rights. Knight received a distribution of US$13.6 million from NEMO II which consists of (1) a full return of our US$11.8 million deployed plus (2) US$1.8 million, representing a 16% return on the deployed capital. The fund will continue to manage remaining assets over the course of the fund life through 2018.

BioMmune Technologies Inc. (TSX-V:IMU) (the “Company”) announced that it has closed its non-brokered private placement announced on May 3rd, 2015. The Company has issued 5,000,000 units (each a “Unit”) at a price of CDN$0.20 per unit, for gross proceeds of CDN$1,000,000. Each Unit consists of one common share and one full common share purchase warrant. Each warrant entitles the holder to purchase one additional common share of the Company at a price of CDN$0.30 per share for a period of eighteen months up to and including December 8th, 2016, subject to an exercise acceleration clause. The net proceeds from the sale of units have been added to working capital in furtherance of the Company’s business.

Cynapsus Therapeutics Inc. (TSX:CTH)(OTCMKTS:CYNAD) announced that it is offering to sell 4,500,000 common shares in an underwritten public offering pursuant to a registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In connection with this offering, Cynapsus expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an aggregate of 675,000 additional common shares. There can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering. The common shares are currently, and will continue to be, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “CTH,” and an application has been made to list the common shares on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “CYNA.”

ProNAi Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage oncology company pioneering a novel class of therapeutics based on its proprietary DNAi technology platform, announced that it has publicly filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to a proposed initial public offering of its common stock.  All shares of common stock to be sold in the offering will be offered by ProNAi. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. ProNAi intends to list its common stock on the NASDAQ Global Market under the ticker symbol “DNAI.”

Easton Pharmaceuticals Inc. (OTCMKTS:EAPH) announced it has signed an MOU agreement towards finalizing negotiations with BMV Medica S.A. de C.V. to jointly distribute and sell a line of the most common and used cancer drugs throughout Mexico and most of Latin America. The majority of these sales will be to the Mexican and other national governments through their national tender program. As a member of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Canadian-manufactured pharmaceuticals qualify for the national tender program, providing a major advantage over other manufacturers. Easton Pharmaceuticals also announces it has made the decision not to cancel its option with MDRM Canada, and stays committed to Canada’s Medical Marijuana industry and Aero Farms prior to Canada’s federal election in the fall of 2015.

DalCor Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. (DalCor) and the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) announced today a collaboration in principle to conduct an international Phase III clinical trial which could result in a major clinical advance in cardiovascular personalised medicine. This program is part of a major effort by DalCor and its backers, who include significant private capital, to bolster the economy of Quebec by investing in the region’s health care capabilities. The trial will seek to validate the clinical efficacy of dalcetrapib, an investigational medicine that according to a recently published analysis by the MHI could reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality by as much as 39% in patients with a documented recent Acute Coronary Syndrome and with the appropriate genetic profile. DalCor, a company developed by Sanderling Ventures, LLC, has licensed dalcetrapib from Roche.  DalCor is a part of a Sanderling program dedicated to help bolster the biomedical industry in Quebec. This program has plans to form as many as eight companies in Quebec, representing a potential investment of more than $500 million.

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) and Paladin Labs Inc., an operating company of Endo International plc (NASDAQ:ENDP)(TSX:ENL), today announced that ARIAD has granted Paladin exclusive rights to distribute Iclusig™ (as ponatinib hydrochloride) in Canada for its newly approved indications. Paladin is focused on acquiring or in-licensing innovative pharmaceutical products for the Canadian market. Health Canada recently approved Iclusig for the treatment of adult patients with all phases of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) or Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL) for whom other tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy is not appropriate, including CML or Ph+ ALL that is T315I mutation positive, or where there is prior TKI resistance or intolerance. Iclusig will be made available through a controlled distribution program, whereby prescribers who have completed the certification procedure will be able to prescribe Iclusig.

The K2 Principal Fund L.P. (“K2”) announced that it has acquired 8,024,025 common shares of Tribute Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. (TRX). Previously, K2 owned 4,700,000 common share purchase warrants (the “Warrants”) to purchase up to 4,700,000 common shares of TRX at an exercise price of $0.90 per share.  As a result of the acquisition of such shares and previously purchased warrants, and assuming the exercise of the Warrants in full, the Partnership would own 12,724,025 common shares, representing approximately 10.74% of the issued and outstanding common shares of TRX. K2 acquired the securities for investment purposes only and may, depending on market and other conditions, increase or decrease its beneficial ownership, control or direction over, or exercise its current rights to acquire, common shares or other securities of TRX through market transactions, private agreements or otherwise.

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