Antigenics to acquire Aronex Pharmaceuticals

As briefly mentioned in last week's Marketletter, Antigenics has signeda definitive agreement to acquire Aronex Pharmaceuticals in a stock-for-stock transaction. Under the terms of the deal, each Aronex share will convert into the right to receive about $1.10 in shares of Antigenics common stock and, based upon a price of $15.55, the latter will issue about 1.8 million shares at the closing of the deal.

The acquisition means that Antigenics will now have a product pipeline containing six late-stage drugs, including Atragen (liposomal tretinoin for injection) for acute promyelocytic leukemia.