Athenex Buys Kuur Therapeutics - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Athenex, Inc. (ATNX) has acquired Kuur Therapeutics, Inc., a developer of off-the-shelf CAR-NKT cell immunotherapies for the treatment of solid and hematological malignancies. Kuur Therapeutics is a IP Group plc - Portfolio company. Athenex will pay $70 million upfront to Kuur shareholders and certain of its former employees and directors, comprised primarily of equity in Athenex common stock. Additionally, they are eligible to receive up to $115 million of milestone payments.

Johnson Lau, Chief Executive Officer of Athenex, said: "We are excited to add Kuur Therapeutics and its innovative allogeneic CAR-NKT technology to the Athenex platform. Kuur's innovative technology, combined with our TCR program, could propel us into a leadership position in cell therapy."

Also, NeoGenomics, Inc (NEO) has agreed to acquire Inivata, a IP Group plc - Portfolio company. IP Group will receive approximately $91 million in cash or, potentially, NeoGenomics stock, at the Group's election. Current Inivata CEO Clive Morris will become the President of Inivata and will report to Mark Mallon, CEO of NeoGenomics.