Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRNE, “Sorrento”) announced today that it has completed the acquisition of ACEA Therapeutics Inc. (“ACEA”).
The merger was completed on June 1, 2021, and at such time, ACEA became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sorrento. The total value of the consideration payable to the holders of securities of ACEA in the merger was $38,000,000, subject to certain adjustments for interest expenses, indebtedness, transaction expenses, and cash. In total, 5,519,469 shares of Sorrento common stock were issued at closing in satisfaction of certain outstanding indebtedness of ACEA. In addition to the foregoing consideration, and subject to the achievement of certain clinical and sales milestones (as described below), Sorrento will pay the ACEA equity holders (i) up to $450,000,000 in additional payments, subject to the receipt of certain regulatory approvals and achievement of certain net sales targets with respect to the assets acquired in the merger and (ii) with respect to specified royalty-bearing products, five to ten percent of the annual net sales thereof, in each case in accordance with the terms of an earn-out agreement. The amount referenced in clause (i) of the preceding sentence includes the amounts that would have otherwise been due to ACEA under that certain License Agreement, dated July 13, 2020, which agreement terminated in its entirety at the effective time of the merger.
“This is a value-inflection acquisition for Sorrento as we bring in multiple NCE drug product candidates, including the previously licensed Abivertinib as an anchoring small molecule drug product for treating many different cancers and autoimmune diseases,” said Henry Ji, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sorrento. “With broad-spectrum and synergistic infrastructures and expertise in pharmaceutical and biological drug discovery, development and manufacturing, and expanded geographic coverage in China and North America, we envision Sorrento becoming a leading biopharmaceutical company to develop and commercialize innovative medicines that will save and improve lives globally.”
“With perfectly aligned missions, ACEA and Sorrento are both committed to developing innovative drugs and providing therapeutic solutions for unmet medical needs. The successful integration of ACEA small molecule drug pipelines to Sorrento large molecule and cell therapy platforms will significantly strengthen and facilitate the innovative drug development in the field of cancer and autoimmune diseases,” said Xiao Xu, M.D, President of ACEA Therapeutics.
Forward-Looking Statements
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This press release and any statements made for and during any presentation or meeting contain forward-looking statements related to Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc., under the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the potential effects that the acquisition of ACEA may have on Sorrento’s business and product candidate pipeline; Sorrento’s ability to combine ACEA’s technology with Sorrento’s technology and manufacturing capabilities; and Sorrento’s potential position in the biopharmaceutical industry. Risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the completion of the merger; unexpected costs, charges or expenses resulting from the merger; risks related to Sorrento’s technologies and prospects, including, but not limited to: risks related to seeking regulatory approvals; clinical development risks, including risks in the progress, timing, cost, and results of clinical trials and product development programs; risk of difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory approvals; risks that clinical study results may not meet any or all endpoints of a clinical study and that any data generated from such studies may not support a regulatory submission or approval; risks that prior test, study and trial results may not be replicated in future studies and trials; risks of manufacturing and supplying drug product; risks related to leveraging the expertise of its employees, subsidiaries, affiliates and partners to assist Sorrento in the execution of its therapeutic antibody product candidate strategies; risks related to the global impact of COVID-19; and other risks that are described in Sorrento’s most recent periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Sorrento’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risk factors set forth in those filings. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement in this press release except as required by law.
Source: Biospace