AOP Orphan spins off stake in Activartis as Elan shareholders vote down acquisition

In the wake of yesterday’s shareholders vote against Irish drugmaker Elan Corp’s (NYSE: ELN) planned $340 million acquisition of Austrian firm AOP Orphan (The Pharma Letter June 18), the latter announced the spinoff of its 80 % stake in Activartis GmbH, a Vienna-based biotech company with a strong platform for immune-based cancer vaccines, to a group of private investors.

The dendritic cell-based technology for individualized tumor therapy developed by Activartis is well patented and represents a unique therapeutic approach. Clinical development is at an advanced stage for glioblastoma, an incurable disease, and data from a multicentric, prospective trial are expected soon. Beyond glioblastoma, other indications are being pursued, since the technology can be used for virtually any kind of tumor.

Activartis has developed a novel patented cancer immunotherapy concept, AV0113, based on dendritic cells (DC). At the beginning of 2013, the company completed recruitment of around 100 brain cancer patients for a multicenter, randomized, Phase II clinical trial. This study aims to deliver safety and efficacy data for the first time. Early results do not exhibit an improvement in progression-free survival, but overall survival seems to clearly favor Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients (The Pharma Letter April 12).