Genesis Biopharma completes merger with Lion Biotech

US biotech firm Genesis Biopharma (OTC Bulletin Board: GNBP) says that it has completed a merger with Lion Biotechnologies, a privately held biotechnology company based in Los Angeles, to be called Lion Biotechnologies.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Genesis shareholders will continue to hold 83.6% of the combined company and Lion shareholders will initially receive 8.2%, and may receive up to 16.4% of the combined company based on achievement of certain milestones. The stock will continue trading under the ticker symbol GNBP until further notice.

The merger will create a publicly traded biotechnology company focused on developing T-cell based immunotherapy products for the treatment of cancer. Developed by Steven Rosenberg, chief of surgery at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the company’s core technology has demonstrated robust efficacy in Phase II clinical trials, indicating 50%-72% response rates in Stage IV metastatic melanoma.