MARLBOROUGH, Mass.,
Jan. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- RXi
Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NASDAQ: RXII), a clinical-stage RNAi
company developing innovative therapeutics that address significant
unmet medical needs, announced today the closing of its acquisition
of all of the outstanding capital stock of MirImmune Inc., a
privately-held company focused on the development of next
generation immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, pursuant to
that previously disclosed exclusive option agreement.
Under the terms of the stock purchase agreement, MirImmune
shareholders will initially receive a total of approximately 2.75
million shares of the Company's common stock and an additional 1.1
million shares of Series C Preferred Stock, which is convertible
1:1 into common stock, subject to receipt of stockholder approval.
MirImmune's shareholders will also be entitled to potential
additional consideration contingent upon the achievement of certain
milestones set forth in the stock purchase agreement.
To date, MirImmune's data using RXi's propriety self-delivering
RNAi (sd-rxRNA®) platform have demonstrated the unique
applicability of sd-rxRNA for immune checkpoint modulation in
cellular immuno-oncology therapies. The advantages of the sd-rxRNA
technology include excellent transfection efficiency with little to
no loss in cell viability and allows for the potential to silence
multiple check points at once including both extracellular and
intracellular targets.
"This is an exciting and promising start of 2017 for RXi
Pharmaceuticals," said Dr. Geert
Cauwenbergh, President and CEO of RXi Pharmaceuticals. He
further added that, "The outstanding work done by MirImmune using
RXi's proprietary self-delivering RNAi technology has clearly
established the unique competitive advantages of the sd-rxRNA
platform for cell therapy and immuno-oncology. We anticipate that
evaluating our RNAi platform in the immuno-oncology space will open
up novel and better therapeutic approaches for treatment of some of
the more difficult to treat cancers, including hematological
malignancies as well as solid tumors. Finally, the addition
of this immuno-oncology program strengthens and diversifies RXi's
existing clinical pipeline providing significant value to our
shareholders."
To lead the Company in this effort, Alexey Eliseev, PhD has been appointed as RXi's
Chief Business Officer. In this new role, Dr. Eliseev will
spearhead the business development initiatives for the Company's
immunotherapy program. Dr. Eliseev is a highly accomplished leader
with over 20 years of experience in academia, biotechnology
industry and venture capital and most recently was the founder and
CEO of MirImmune Inc. He also co-founded Therascope, later
Alantos Pharmaceuticals, with a number of prominent founders
including French Nobel Laureate Jean-Marie Lehn, where he later
became CTO of the company and President of its US division. Alantos
was acquired by Amgen in 2007. Dr. Eliseev was also among the
founders of AC Immune (Switzerland) and Boston BioCom LLC. Over
recent years, he has worked with Maxwell Biotech Venture Fund as
its Managing Director and ran the investment activity of the fund
in the United States. Dr. Eliseev
earned his PhD in Bioorganic Chemistry from Moscow State University
and MBA from the MIT Sloan School of
Management. Following postdoctoral research in Germany and in the US, he joined the faculty
at SUNY Buffalo in 1995 where he was
awarded tenure in 2000.
Dr. Eliseev said, "I look forward to joining the team at RXi and
applying its unique self-delivering RNAi platform to the
development of cell-based cancer immunotherapies." James D.
Griffin, MD, Chairman, Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber
Cancer Institute further added that, "The formation of one entity
through the merger of RXi Pharmaceuticals and MirImmune Inc. is
exciting news for the immuno-oncology and cell therapy space."
About RXi's Proprietary Self-delivering RNAi (sd-rxRNA)
Technology Platform
RXi's proprietary sd-rxRNA technology has many advantages over
its competitors in the RNAi space. Scientists at RXi have
designed chemically-modified RNAi compounds with improved drug-like
properties that are potent, stable and specific. These
proprietary compounds have built-in delivery properties and
therefore do not require a delivery vehicle for local therapeutic
applications. The enhanced properties of sd-rxRNA
include: efficient spontaneous cellular uptake, stability,
reduced potential for immune stimulation, and potent, long-lasting
intracellular activity. All cell types tested (primary,
neuronal and non-adherent) internalize sd-rxRNA compounds uniformly
and efficiently, resulting in potent and long lasting
silencing. sd‑rxRNA compounds have the ability to selectively
block the expression of any target in the genome providing
applicability to a broad spectrum of therapeutic areas.
About MirImmune Inc.
MirImmune was a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused
on the development of new generation immunotherapies for cancer.
Aiming to achieve long-term survival of cancer patients, it
combined two leading approaches to cancer treatment: immune
checkpoint inhibition and cell-based immunotherapies.
About RXi Pharmaceuticals
RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NASDAQ: RXII) is a
clinical-stage company developing innovative therapeutics that
address significant unmet medical needs. Building on the
pioneering discovery of RNAi, the Company's discovery and clinical
development programs are based on its proprietary self-delivering
RNAi (sd-rxRNA®) platform. RXi's robust pipeline, coupled with an
extensive patent portfolio, provides for multiple product and
business development opportunities across a broad spectrum of
therapeutic areas. We are committed to being a partner of choice
for academia, small companies, and large multinationals. We welcome
ideas and proposals for strategic alliances, including in- and
out-licensing opportunities, to advance and further develop
strategic areas of interest. Additional information may be found on
the Company's website, www.rxipharma.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially,
including the risks and uncertainties associated with: the actual
realization of anticipated benefits of the acquisition of
MirImmune; risks that we may not be able to successfully develop
and commercialize our product candidates; risks that product
development and clinical studies may be delayed, not proceed as
planned and/or be subject to significant cost over-runs; risks
related to the development and commercialization of products by
competitors; risks related to our ability to control the timing and
terms of collaborations with third parties; and risks that other
companies or organizations may assert patent rights preventing us
from developing or commercializing our product candidates and other
risks detailed in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K,
subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other documents filed
with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Readers are urged to review these risk factors and to not act in
reliance on any forward-looking statements, as actual results may
differ from those contemplated by our forward-looking statements.
RXi does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to
reflect a change in its views, events or circumstances.
Contact
RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Tamara McGrillen
508-929-3646
tmcgrillen@rxipharma.com
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SOURCE RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation