Date: Aug 30, 2007 Source: Venture Beat (
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In a rare all-Bay Area biotech transaction, Foster City, Calif.'s Entelos agreed to acquire Iconix Biosciences for up to $39.1 million in stock. The deal consists of an up-front payment of $14.1 million in Entelos shares and a potential "earn out payment" of $25 million if certain financial milestones are met. The acquisition is scheduled to close tomorrow.
Entelos develops computer models of disease intended to assist in the identification of drug candidates and early analysis of their effectiveness. Iconix, meanwhile, has focused on building "toxicogenomic" reference information, which details the genetic profiles that are most likely to lead to toxic side effects when a particular drug is used. Entelos president James Karis said in a statement that the combination will create "a new paradigm for discovering and developing drugs" by making it possible to also predict whether certain drug candidates may cause toxic side effects.
Iconix had raised a total of more than $50 million prior to the acquisition, according to VentureWire (subscription required). Its investors included Abingworth Management, Institutional Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, and MDS Pharma Services.
