Amphion Innovations Share Discussion Threads

[cottoner] 23/2/2015 21:07

Paratek Pharmaceuticals Completes Merger With Transcept Pharmaceuticals

Merger Results in a NASDAQ Listed Company, Paratek (NASDAQ: PRTK, as of October 31), Which Will Focus on the Development and Commercialization of Paratek's Phase 3 Ready Drug Candidate: Omadacycline, a New Antibiotic for Serious Community Acquired Infections

BOSTON, Oct. 30, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:PRTK) and Transcept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:TSPT) (through October 30) today announced the two companies have completed their merger effective as of October 30, 2014.

Immediately prior to the merger, Paratek received gross proceeds of $93 million in new investment from a combination of certain current and new investors in Paratek, including Abingworth LLP, Aisling Capital, The Baupost Group, HBM Healthcare Investments, Interwest Ventures, Omega Funds, Roumell Asset Management and other highly regarded institutional investors. Together with approximately $14 million in available, pre-merger cash on Transcept's balance sheet, the combined company has approximately $108 million in cash available before the payment of transaction and other fees.

Prior to the merger, Transcept effected a 12-1 reverse stock split of its outstanding common stock. As a result of the reverse stock split, every 12 shares of Transcept common stock outstanding immediately prior to the merger were combined and reclassified into one share of Transcept common stock. No fractional shares are being issued in connection with the reverse stock split. Instead, cash, based on the closing price of Transcept common stock on The NASDAQ Global Market on October 30, 2014, will be issued in lieu of fractions of shares.

The holders of shares of Paratek common stock outstanding immediately prior to the merger received 0.0675 shares of Transcept common stock in exchange for each share of Paratek common stock in the merger. The exchange ratio reflects the 12-1 reverse stock split. Following the $93 million financing, the reverse stock split and the merger, the combined company has approximately 14.4 million shares outstanding.

Also in connection with the merger, Transcept changed its name to Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The combined company will commence trading as of October 31, 2014 on The NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol "PRTK".

The combined company will operate under the leadership of Michael F. Bigham, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The combined company's board of directors is comprised of representatives from the former Paratek board of directors, a representative from the former Transcept board of directors and two new directors. In addition to Michael F. Bigham, the directors are Evan Loh, M.D., Richard J. Lim, Thomas J. Dietz, Ph.D., Jeffrey Stein, Ph.D., and Robert Radie.

"We are very pleased to complete this merger, which marks a significant milestone for Paratek. We are transitioning from a private company to a publicly-traded company through this merger, and significantly increasing our financial resources," said Michael F. Bigham. "These funds will enable us to develop and prepare for the potential commercialization of our phase 3-ready drug candidates, with a key focus on omadacycline for serious community acquired infections."

Evan Loh, President and Chief Medical Officer, commented "Omadacycline is a new, broad-spectrum antibiotic we are developing for use as a first-line monotherapy for serious community-acquired bacterial infections where antibiotic resistance is of concern. We believe it has the potential to become the primary antibiotic choice of physicians for the treatment of community-acquired bacterial infections. We expect that our special protocol assessment (SPA) agreements with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the phase 3 trial designs in acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) and community acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP) will enable Paratek to initiate these trials in 2015, moving us one step closer to bringing this important medicine to the patients who need it."

[cottoner] 23/2/2015 21:02

Actavis agrees to acquire Durata Therapeutics

By Tess Stynes
Published: Oct 6, 2014 8:44 a.m. ET

Actavis PLC reached an agreement to acquire specialty pharmaceutical company Durata Therapeutics Inc. in a deal the companies valued at about $675 million, which is expected to strengthen Actavis’s business that focuses on infectious diseases.

Durata shareholders would receive $23 a share in cash, a 66% premium to Durata’s Friday closing price, plus contingent value rights that would entitle them to additional payments of as much as $5 a share in milestone payments.

The deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions in the pharmaceutical industry.

With the transaction, expected to close in late this year or next year, Actavis ACT, -1.40% gains Durata’s US:DRTX Dalvance, an injectable antibiotic that received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in May to treat acute drug-resistant skin infections under a program giving incentives to drug makers for antibiotics, including added years of marketing exclusivity.

Durata also is seeking approval from European regulators as well as approvals for other indications in the U.S. Durata recently was granted a special protocol agreement from the FDA to study Dalvance for cases of hospital-acquired pneumonia.

[cottoner] 23/2/2015 20:37

An Interview with Graham Lumsden the CEO of Motif BioSciences Inc. , the interview was from a few weeks and posted originally on Feb 5th a couple of days after Motif Bio announced they intended to float.

Note : the interview is with Graham Lumsden is the CEO of Motif Bio , not the AMP CEO who is Richard C. E. Morgan.

Well worth a listen.


hxxp://www....com/graham-lumsden-ceo-mofitbio-plc-ipo/


where ... is directorstalk

Quotes from interview

"Motif is in a very encouraging position in that we have a number of antibiotics in our pipeline"

"Looking to bring iclaprim to market hopefully within a 3 year period, early 2018"


In the interview the Motif Bio CEO also quotes two comparables with Motif.

1. PARATEK which is listed on Nasdaq on OCt 2014 and is about 6 months ahead of Motif. They are also taking a novel antibiotic into phase 3 , about to start phase 3 trials, their MCAP is currently about $345m.

2. DURATA , they got the first approval for their first product, an antibiotic in May 2014 and they were acquired later in the year by ACTAVIS for $675m.

[21trader] 21/2/2015 19:36

It looks a good bet to go ahead. How much they raise is anybody's guess but at least 50% of what has been muted would be good for the price here I reckon.

[cottoner] 21/2/2015 19:02

It would be surprising in the current climate wrt the "Call to boost antibiotics funding to tackle 'looming crisis'" if the proposed IPO of Motif Bio is not a success.

[cottoner] 21/2/2015 18:58

AMP's RNS on July 8th 2014

Amphion Partner, Motif, Poised to Help Solve Global Health Crisis

London and New York, 8 July 2014: Amphion Innovations plc (LSE: AMP), the developer of medical and technology businesses, notes Prime Minister David Cameron's 2 July 2014 statement pertaining to the launch of a new global taskforce, established to coordinate an international effort to combat antibiotic resistant superbugs. The taskforce, which is to be chaired by economist Jim O'Neill, will focus on how to find and develop new drugs, specifically antibiotics, in order to combat the ever-growing and serious problem of these antibiotic resistant superbugs.

Prime Minister David Cameron commented: "Resistance to antibiotics is now a very real and worrying threat as bacteria mutate to become immune to their effects. With some 25,000 people a year already dying of infections resistant to antibiotic drugs in Europe alone, this is not some distant threat but something happening right now. If we fail to act, we are looking at an almost unthinkable scenario where antibiotics no longer work and we are cast back to the dark ages of medicine where treatable infections and injuries can kill once again" - Source: 2 July 2014 Wellcome Trust Press Release

Amphion's Partner Company, Motif BioSciences Ltd. ("Motif"), a cutting-edge drug discovery/development company based in New York City, has a stated mission to develop solutions addressing the antibiotic crisis. Motif is currently developing two new antibiotics that work in different ways to those commonly used today. In the opinion of the management team, no other company worldwide is currently developing antibiotics with the same mechanism. The highly experienced scientific team at Motif believes that these two new antibiotics will be particularly well equipped for commercial success. Motif's target is to have two new antibiotics ready to launch to the healthcare market and the management team looks forward to providing an update on details and timing in due course.

Amphion's Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Motif, Richard Morgan, said: "We welcome the recent remarks made by Prime Minister Cameron regarding the antibiotic crisis and the initiatives he announced. With its leading team of experts, strategic partnerships, and new antibiotic candidates, Motif is poised to help address this situation.

"Amphion is currently the largest outside shareholder in Motif, which is second in size and importance in terms of our investment holdings. We look forward to seeing the company progress its development programmes and believe the upside potential to be very large if the company is successful."

[cottoner] 21/2/2015 18:46

Former Goldman Chair Jim O'Neill discusses antibiotics resistance

Published on Feb 5, 2015
CCTV America interviewed Jim O'Neill a former chairman of the Goldman Sachs Asset Management Company and the analyst who coined the term BRICS, about the economic impacts of antibiotic resistance.

[cottoner] 21/2/2015 18:42

The Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, Chaired by Jim O'Neill.

[21trader] 20/2/2015 09:46

15k max online buy they are short again until the next wave of profit taking.

[cottoner] 19/2/2015 14:27

Some info from Motif Bio website - especially interesting is that other
antibiotics that also failed to gain approval for commercialization previously have since gained approval.


ICLAPRIM BACKGROUND

Iclaprim is a dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) inhibitor originally discovered by F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd. Iclaprim was licensed to and developed by Arpida AG. In 2008, following a Phase III trial, Arpida submitted a request to the FDA and the EMA for approval to market the compound. On the basis of submitted data, iclaprim was not approved and ceased to be developed.
Motif has reviewed all preclinical and clinical data, including the U.S. and European regulatory correspondence. We believe that iclaprim can be rapidly returned to late stage clinical testing with some improvements to the original development program.

The final clinical development plan will be confirmed in meetings with the FDA and the EMA, which are expected to take place in 2015. Assuming that funds can be raised to complete clinical development and that the clinical trials are successful, we believe that it is feasible to achieve approval to market within 36 months.We believe that the regulatory environment for antibiotics has become more favorable to the approval of potential antibiotic compounds. The urgent need for novel antibiotics is well recognized, with the passing in 2012 of the GAIN Act, which mandates accelerated approval times and extended market exclusivity in the U.S., and the publication by the FDA of revised, clear clinical trial guidelines. We believe this development is a major improvement as compared to the situation at the time of the earlier antibiotic submissions in 2008 and that this greatly enhances the likelihood of approval, assuming that the clinical trials are completed successfully.

Furthermore, three other antibiotics also failed to gain approval for commercialization around the same time iclaprim was submitted. These include dalbavancin, oritavancin, and omadacycline. Additional clinical trials were completed with dalbavancin and oritavancin; these antibiotics were approved by the FDA in May and August 2014 respectively. Omadacycline is expected to re-enter the Phase III trials in the first half of 2015.

CLINICAL AND REGULATORY STRATEGY
Motif has developed a clinical and regulatory strategy, addressing the deficiencies in the original development program, with the intention of re-entering clinical testing with an intravenous formulation for use in hospitals.
Motif is seeking to confirm in meetings with the FDA and the EMA in the first half of 2015 that the clinical development plan for iclaprim meets regulatory guidelines and that two Phase III trials can be conducted as proposed.

[21trader] 19/2/2015 13:43

37375 pays 3.7p this morning sells for 3.05p they will not last long in this
game for sure.

[21trader] 19/2/2015 13:38

Some people are so weak selling at 3.1p when 3.25p bid. Bad enough when they were
paying 3.9p+ this morning for stock

[a1samu] 19/2/2015 09:00

well yea 21century trader, the name of this game is to outwit the mms and await the development of the events.

[21trader] 19/2/2015 08:54

Easy game for the mm's when you have buyers paying 3.95p then sellers at 3.5-3.55p
good margin for profit.

[cottoner] 18/2/2015 15:24

Clock is ticking towards 31st March before when Motif Bio must float on AIM if its merger is to go ahead.

Pre IPO info should soon start to appear.

Amphion Innovations, a developer of medical, life science, and technology businesses, is pleased to announce that Partner Company, Motif BioSciences Inc. ("Motif"), has entered into an agreement to merge with a private company that holds the intellectual property and world-wide rights to a clinical stage antibiotic designed to be effective against MRSA and multi-drug resistant bacteria (the "Acquisition"). Motif plans to start Phase III trials this year in two serious hospital-acquired infections.

Completion of the Acquisition is conditional inter-alia upon Motif completing an IPO before 31 March 2015.

Motif is a US-based drug discovery and development company focused on developing solutions for the antibiotic crisis. As of 31 December 2013, Amphion owned 32% of Motif.

[21trader] 18/2/2015 10:57

Down to 25k max buy after nibbles today

[21trader] 13/2/2015 15:32

Next offer on L2 is 3.75p so a 0.5p gap up with 4 mm bidding 3p

[cottoner] 12/2/2015 19:15

Start of an article in this weeks Shares Magazine.

Fraid don't subscribe so can't see the full article , but the start sounds fairly positive !!! :-)

Motif set for AIM debut
Antibiotics developer seeks solution to public health crisis
Clinical-phase drug company Motif Bio intends to join AIM by the end of March to help fight the growing resistance to antibiotics. With an experienced management team and good initial research it could be an interesting play on solving one of the ...

[21trader] 10/2/2015 22:48

Lots of reasons to buy in and now the price is falling again even better reason to get some on the cheap.

[cottoner] 09/2/2015 22:09

Enthusiasm for healthcare firms revives as returns rise

Biotech companies have in recent years found the UK markets difficult to tap for funding, with US investors tending to show more enthusiasm for them. However, the appetite for biotech appears to be increasing, following a stellar year in 2014 for returns from healthcare companies.

One company hoping to embrace the UK’s newfound enthusiasm for the sector is Motif Bio, a US firm with interesting antibiotics in development. It intends to raise up to £16m in a flotation on the Alternative Investment Market, ahead of plans to get its most advanced drug into final-stage trials during the second half of the year.

Motif Bio will have been buoyed by Friday’s announcement by the leading fund manager Neil Woodford that he is to launch a investment company specialising in unlisted and small company biotech businesses. He has been a cheerleader for biotech firms in recent years.

[hoggar] 02/2/2015 17:23

Of course the prospectus sent to investment institutions will determine the IPO valuation. No doubt the Motif scientists had scrutinized Iclaprim prior to taking the license and the terms thereof. We can also assume the investment houses will do the same.
As stated, if the hype and spin from management can be kept to a minimum than a realistic share price can be found after the debacle of KMK