Onxeo to acquire DNA Therapeutics

French orphan oncology Onxeo (Euronext Paris: ONXEO) has reached an agreement to acquire DNA Therapeutics, a privately-held, clinical-stage French biopharmaceutical company, for its signal-interfering DNA (siDNA) repair technology, which is directed at overcoming cancer resistance mechanisms, and includes lead product candidate DT01.

The acquisition, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to complete by the end of March 2016. Shares of Onxeo, itself created in 2014 by a merger between French company BioAlliance Pharma, and Danish biopharmaceutical company Topotarget, were up 3.8% at 3.00 euros in mid-morning trading.

The acquisition of DNA Therapeutics continues to demonstrate Onxeo's commitment to developing novel orphan oncology drugs that position the company at the forefront of scientific research for rare cancers with high, unmet medical needs, and have the potential to generate significant value for the Company and its stakeholders by opening other indications and markets, the French firm said.