Nuvelo agrees to an Arca bio takeover

California, USA-based Nuvelo, which has no products on the market and suffered a major blow in March when its lead drug candidate alfimeprase, an anticoagulant, disappointed in clinical testing, has agreed to merge into Arca biopharma, a privately-held, Colorado-headquartered biopharmaceutical company developing genetically-targeted therapies for heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases.

The aim is to create a biotechnology company with a near-term commercial opportunity in Arca's Gencaro (bucindolol HCl), which has recently been accepted for review by the US Food and Drug Administration, as well as a mid-stage pipeline asset, the novel short-acting anticoagulant NU172, to drive long-term growth.

Under the merger agreement, Arca's owners will receive shares or rights to acquire them equal to 67% of the common stock in Nuvelo, while the latter's shareholders would get the other 33%. The transaction is expected to be completed in early 2009. It should give the company the financial resources to remain in operation through the FDA review of Gencaro and the start of commercial sales of the drug, which is expected by the end of 2009, says the Denver Business Journal.