Pyxis Oncology has successfully completed its acquisition of Apexigen, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, in an all-stock transaction valued at about $10.7 million. The combined company will focus on developing next-generation therapeutics targeting difficult-to-treat cancers. The acquisition enhances Pyxis Oncology’s antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) capabilities, adding Apexigen’s APXiMAB platform for generating novel antibodies optimized for targeted payload delivery. The company’s leadership team will continue to be led by CEO Lara S. Sullivan, and the acquisition will also bring in Xiaodong Yang, founder of Apexigen, as Distinguished Research Fellow.
Pyxis Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: PYXS) (“Pyxis Oncology” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage company focused on developing next-generation therapeutics to target difficult-to-treat cancers, today announced the successful completion of its acquisition of Apexigen, Inc. (“Apexigen”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative antibody therapeutics for oncology, in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $10.7 million. The combined company is positioned at the forefront of ADC innovation with a platform that now includes four key components: novel humanized antibody generation capabilities, an expanded library of linkers with improved stability, site specific conjugation chemistries, and optimized payloads.
“Today is an exciting milestone for Pyxis Oncology as we expand our pipeline with the addition of sotigalimab (now PYX-107), a potentially first- and best-in-class CD40 agonist with demonstrated anti-cancer activity in patients who previously progressed on PD-(L)1 inhibitors, and enhance our ADC capabilities,” said Lara S. Sullivan, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Pyxis Oncology. “We are excited about the potential for the commercially and clinically validated APXiMAB platform to generate novel antibodies that can be optimized for targeted payload delivery. In combination with our clinically validated proprietary FACT platform licensed from Pfizer Inc., we believe Pyxis Oncology is now well positioned with an end-to-end system for designing and producing novel, next-generation ADC candidates with improved potency, stability and tolerability.”
The combined company’s executive leadership team will continue to be led by Lara S. Sullivan, M.D., as President and Chief Executive Officer, Pamela Connealy as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, and Jan Pinkas, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer. Xiaodong Yang, M.D., Ph.D., founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Apexigen, is joining the combined company as Distinguished Research Fellow.
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With the closing of this transaction, Jakob Dupont, M.D., Executive Partner at Sofinnova Investments, was appointed as an Independent Director to the Pyxis Oncology Board of Directors. Dr. Dupont previously served as a member of the Apexigen Board of Directors beginning in August 2020. His prior experience also includes roles as Global Head of Research and Development and Executive Vice President at Atara Biotherapeutics, as Chief Medical Officer at Gossamer Bio Inc., and as Vice President, Global Head Breast and Gynecologic Cancer Development at Genentech/Roche. Dr. Dupont holds an A.B. in Philosophy from Vassar College, an M.A. in Philosophy from New York University and an M.D. from Cornell University.
“I’m pleased to join the Pyxis Oncology Board of Directors,” said Jakob Dupont. “Pyxis Oncology is one of the few companies with clinically and commercially validated ADC platform capabilities, and I look forward to working with the team as we advance new treatment options for patients with cancer.”
Under the terms of the transaction, (i) each outstanding share of Apexigen common stock was converted into the right to receive 0.1725 (the “Exchange Ratio”) of a share of Pyxis Oncology common stock and (ii) any outstanding options to purchase shares of Apexigen common stock, Apexigen restricted stock units and warrants to purchase shares of Apexigen common stock were converted into options, restricted stock units or warrants, respectively, of Pyxis Oncology, based on the Exchange Ratio. This results in Pyxis Oncology shareholders owning approximately 90 percent and Apexigen shareholders owning approximately 10 percent of the combined company’s common stock, assuming no exercise or settlement of the converted options, restricted stock units or warrants. Pyxis Oncology issued approximately 4.3 million shares of common stock as a result of this transaction, and immediately post-acquisition, Pyxis Oncology is expected to have 43,872,248 shares of common stock outstanding.
Financial and Legal Advisors
Sidley Austin LLP served as legal advisor to Pyxis Oncology. Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. served as financial advisor and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C. served as legal advisor to Apexigen.
Source: BioSpace
