Dive Brief:
- Galena Biopharma Inc. announced Tuesday morning it will merge with privately held oncology company Sellas Life Sciences Group Ltd. in an all-stock transaction.
- The new company will take on the Sellas' name and list on Nasdaq, with Galena stock and warrant holders expected to own approximately 32.5% of the combined company. Sellas shareholders will own the remaining 67.5%.
- Following the merger, the new company's pipeline will contain a lead asset from Sellas and three pipeline compounds from Galena, all targeting a variety of cancers.
Dive Insight:
Months of searching for a partner has finally resulted in a solution for beleaguered Galena.
The past year has been tough for the California biotech, which was forced to discontinue a trial for its lead product NeuVax (nelipepimut-S) when it failed to outperform placebo. While management insisted the failure of the trial was due to study design and not the drug's efficacy, the setback left Galena on a rocky road moving forward.
Soon after, the company's CEO abruptly left amid a criminal investigation accusing the company of misleading marketing about its fentanyl-based painkiller. This scandal was followed by layoffs and a search for a buyer of its remaining pipeline holdings.
The new company will gain NeuVax, which is currently being investigated in three Phase 2 trials for breast cancer, as well as GALE-301/302, an earlier-stage cancer immunotherapy program.
Sellas brings to the table its Phase 3-ready galinpepimut-S (GPS), a WT1 antigen-targeting immunotherapy under study as a monotherapy and in combination for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia, multiple myeloma and ovarian cancer.
Angelos Stergiou, the CEO of Sellas, will take over the top slot at the combined company and the Galena board will resign upon completion of the transaction.