Date: May 02, 2017 Author: Jennifer Henderson Source: Bizjournals (
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Durham's Heat Biologics (Nasdaq: HTBX) has completed its acquisition of Austin, Texas-based immuno-oncology company Pelican Therapeutics, in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $1.5 million.
"We've been following Pelican and thinking about [the acquisition] for quite a while," said Heat CEO Jeff Wolf in an interview at the time of the deal's announcement in March. "I think as we're progressing in our clinical trials and as we see and better understand the importance of immuno-oncology combination therapy to have more sustained and lasting impacts on patients, [it currently] makes a lot of sense."
Heat is developing immunotherapy products for the treatment of bladder and lung cancer.
"Pelican's two product candidates strengthen our portfolio in the emerging T cell activation space," said Wolf in a statement, regarding the deal's closing. "The acquisition also brings a $15.2 million grant awarded by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to advance multiple products through preclinical development and at least one program through a 70 patient Phase 1 clinical trial."
In its announcement of the deal's closing, Heat further stated that Pelican board member Rahul Jasuja -- former managing director of biotechnology research at Noble Life Science Partners -- has been appointed CEO of Heat's Pelican subsidiary.
Earlier this year, Heat disclosed in an SEC filing that the company is in threat of delisting again due to its stock price, which continues to sit below $1.00.
Shares of Heat were up close to three percent Tuesday morning, trading around $0.78.
