RXi Buys Apthera, Names New CEO

RXi Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RXII]]), the Worcester, MA-based developer of RNA interference therapies, said today it has agreed to acquire Scottsdale, AZ-based Apthera, a developer of peptide immunotherapies for cancer. Apthera shareholders will get 4.8 million shares of RXi under the deal, plus future considerations based on how Apthera’s NeuVax performs. RXi’s shares were valued at $1.50 before the announcement, meaning 4.8 million shares are worth about $7.2 million. As part of the deal, RXi CEO Noah Beerman is resigning, and being replaced as CEO by Mark Ahn, a member of RXi’s board. The NeuVax program will now become RXi’s most advanced in development, as it is being prepared to enter Phase III clinical trials in 2012.

Author: Luke Timmerman

Luke is an award-winning journalist specializing in life sciences. He has served as national biotechnology editor for Xconomy and national biotechnology reporter for Bloomberg News. Luke got started covering life sciences at The Seattle Times, where he was the lead reporter on an investigation of doctors who leaked confidential information about clinical trials to investors. The story won the Scripps Howard National Journalism Award and several other national prizes. Luke holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and during the 2005-2006 academic year, he was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.