Merger
Two development stage diagnostics specialists, Avacta plc and Curidium Medica plc, are to merge in the hope of combining their expertise and resources in order to get their products to market sooner. Both companies are listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in London and the deal is structured as an offer by Leeds University spin-out Avacta to acquire all of Curidium’s shares.
While Curidium, a specialist in personalised medicine, brings £3.6 million in cash to the deal, Avacta has marketing channels developed through its contract services business. Though neither company is coming to the merger from a position of strength, they say that the combination of Avacta’s expertise in developing new products and services, and in commercialising intellectual property, with Curidium’s expertise in the biology of disease and personalised medicine, will generate growth.
In addition, there will be revenues from Avacta’s services business and from the imminent launch of its first point-of-care diagnostic products. For its part, Curidium has developed a blood diagnostic test that can be used to assign patients with schizophrenia/bipolar disorder into one of four subgroups. Since only a minority of patients respond to any given drug, the test can be used to select the most appropriate treatment. It can also be used in drug discovery to develop drugs targeted at the subgroups.
Curidium has a commercial partnership with Takeda Research International Inc to develop similar diagnostic tests for major depressive disorders.
The company has been trying to attract a licensing partner for its diagnostic test for some time. Now, the merged company will be able to market the test directly through Avacta's contract services business. At the same time it will be possible to accelerate the development of some of Avacta's products by applying Curidium’s expertise in biostatistics and bioinformatics.
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