In mid-November 2015, it was announced that Dyax (NASDAQ:DYAX) had been acquired by Shire PLC for $5.5B in cash. The firm ceased to trade in January 2016. In business since 1989, Dyax Corporation had been formed from merger between Biotage, a separations instrument chromatography firm, and Protein Engineering Corporation, from which patented proprietary phage display technology was acquired. In 2003, Dyax sold its non-core business, Biotage, to focus exclusively on iotherapeutics. Dyaxs core proprietary phage display technology allows for the rapid identification of compounds that bind with very high affinity and specificity to therapeutic targets. Utilizing phage display, generate large diverse libraries of human antibodies, peptides, and proteins, which may be screened against disease-associated target molecules to identify potential binders. Automation allows rapid screen ing of these libraries for high-affinity binders. Vast size and diversity of libraries often yield multiple candidates, from which best therapeutic candidate can be selected . Dyaxs lead product candidate is DX-88, a recombinant small protein that is currently in clinical trials for its therapeutic potential in two separate indications. Three Phase 2 trials completed and two Phase 3 trials of DX-88 for the treatment of hereditary angioedema (HAE). The second Phase 3 trial, known as EDEMA4, was conducted under a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA). DX-88 has orphan drug designation in the U.S. and E.U., as well as Fast Track designation in the U.S. for the treatment of acute attacks of HAE. Additionally, Dyax has completed a Phase 1/2 trial of DX-88 for the prevention of blood loss during on-pump coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedures. In April 2008, Dyax licensed to Cubist Pharmaceuticals the intravenous formulation of DX-88 for surgical indications in North America and Europe. Cubist is responsible for the ongoing development of DX-88 in this indication. Dyax leverages its technology broadly with more than 70 revenue generating licenses and collaborations for therapeutic discovery, as well as non-core areas such as affinity separations, diagnostic imaging and research reagent
