Aratana acquires Okapi SciencesMeanwhile, Aratana Therapeutics, a company focused on pet medications, today announced its acquisition of Okapi Sciences, which has a proprietary pet antiviral platform and five clinical and development stage candidates in its pipeline. Two of Okapi's most promising antiviral products include its feline herpes and feline immunodeficiency virus franchises.
The acquisition was made for approximately $14 million in cash, a promissory note for $15 million with a maturity date of Dec. 31, 2014, and a possible additional payment of $16 million in cash or shares of common stock.
Aratana, which I identified in a previous article as one of the top-performing biotech IPOs of 2013, has no marketed products. However, it announced that it had met all of its 2013 milestone developments in late December -- a clinical study for its osteoarthritis drug for dogs showed promising results, it initiated a study with 150 dogs for its appetite-stimulating drug, and outlined plans for a field study for its drug for postoperative pain in dogs.
Aratana also acquired Vet Therapeutics in October to add veterinary biologics to its pipeline. The combined acquisitions of Vet and Okapi could significantly accelerate the speed at which Aratana's products reach the market, so investors should stay tuned to the company's progress.
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The acquisition was made for approximately $14 million in cash, a promissory note for $15 million with a maturity date of Dec. 31, 2014, and a possible additional payment of $16 million in cash or shares of common stock.
Aratana, which I identified in a previous article as one of the top-performing biotech IPOs of 2013, has no marketed products. However, it announced that it had met all of its 2013 milestone developments in late December -- a clinical study for its osteoarthritis drug for dogs showed promising results, it initiated a study with 150 dogs for its appetite-stimulating drug, and outlined plans for a field study for its drug for postoperative pain in dogs.
Aratana also acquired Vet Therapeutics in October to add veterinary biologics to its pipeline. The combined acquisitions of Vet and Okapi could significantly accelerate the speed at which Aratana's products reach the market, so investors should stay tuned to the company's progress.
quoted from here