Apricus Biosciences closes Topotarget USA acquisition

Apricus Biosciences (Nasdaq: APRI) has closed its previously-announced acquisition of Topotarget USA, a subsidiary of Denmark’s Topotarget A/S (TOPO: CO). As a result, the Rockaway, New Jersey-based company becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of Apricus and is being renamed as Apricus Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.

With the acquisition, which involved an upfront payment of $2 million and as much as $2 million more in stock if certain milestones are achieved, Apricus Bio moves into the commercialization and sales of oncology and oncology supportive care pharmaceuticals. Topotarget USA has a sales infrastructure, sales team, and a revenue-generating product with "strong future growth potential," according to an Apricus statement.

Bassam Damaj, chairman, president and chief executive of Apricus, said," We are extremely pleased with the acquisition of Totect (dexrazoxane), a valuable product for the treatment of anthracycline extravasation, the leakage of chemotherapy into the tissue of cancer patients. We are looking forward to expanding the territory of Totect to Canada and Latin America, in addition to acquiring additional products in the USA and abroad to expand the breadth of our oncology and related product portfolio for Apricus Pharma."