Abgenix to acquire Canada's ImmGenics

Abgenix, the California, USA-based biopharmaceutical company, hasentered into a definitive agreement to acquire ImmGenics of Vancouver, Canada, in an all-stock deal valued at $77 million. The transaction, which is expected to be completed by the beginning of December, has been approved by both companies' boards of directors and is subject to ImmGenics shareholders' clearance.

Abgenix noted that it will incur "a significant, yet-to-be-determined, one-time charge in the fourth quarter," and its operating expenses are anticipated to increase by approximately $2-$3 million annually as a result of the acquisition. This should not be too much of a financial burden for Abgenix, however, as the company had $560 million in cash and equivalents at June 30, 2000.

ImmGenics, which was founded in 1993, has developed a technology which it claims can dramatically increase the number of antibodies that can be screened for any given antigen target. This is expected to allow Abgenix to rapidly select optimal product candidates from larger pools of antibodies, the firms said.