Article

Teva and Ignyta Announce Acquisition by Ignyta of 4 Oncology R&D Assets from Teva

Ignyta has acquired the worldwide rights and assets relating to Teva's 4 targeted oncology development programs.

PRESS RELEASE

JERUSALEM & SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 17, 2015-- Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TEVA) ("Teva"), a world leading global pharmaceutical company, and Ignyta, Inc. (Nasdaq:RXDX) ("Ignyta"), a precision oncology biotechnology company, today announced the acquisition by Ignyta of the worldwide rights and assets relating to four targeted oncology development programs in exchange for 1.5 million shares (6%) of Ignyta's common stock.

Concurrently, Ignyta has entered into stock purchase agreements with Teva, and selected additional healthcare investors, whereby Teva will purchase a further 1.5 million shares of common Ignyta stock at a price of $10 per share in a registered direct offering. The other investors will purchase an additional 2.7 million shares at $10 per share, valuing the total offering at approximately $41.6 million.

"Teva has committed to finding novel ways for the ongoing development of early clinical stage and pre-clinical oncology R&D programs, which hold significant promise for cancer patients," said Michael Hayden, Teva's President of Global R&D and Chief Scientific Officer. "Ignyta's capabilities and focus in oncology will give these assets the best chance of realizing their potential for patients, and of maximizing their value for Teva."

"Acquiring these four development stage programs from Teva is truly transformational for Ignyta and well aligned with our strategic focus on developing first-in-class and best-in-class precision medicines to help cancer patients with unmet needs," said Jonathan Lim, M.D., Chairman and CEO of Ignyta. "These oncology programs add critical mass to our pipeline and further enable us to leverage our precision oncology platform, including our proprietary multiplex diagnostic assays and our CLIA certified, QSR compliant diagnostic laboratory. Furthermore, these new assets complement our entrectinib development program and extend our ability to target the majority of known oncogenic drivers across multiple solid tumor indications. For example, in non-small cell lung cancer alone, we believe that our product candidates have potential activity against many of the most frequent oncogenic drivers in this disease, and we plan to explore these opportunities through innovative clinical trial designs such as master protocols."

"We are also grateful to Teva and the financial investors who share Ignyta's precision oncology vision and invested in this latest financing," continued Dr. Lim. "We intend to use the funds to further advance our precision oncology vision by developing targeted therapies that provide meaningful benefit to specific populations of cancer patients."

Overview of Asset Acquisition Transaction

Under the terms of the asset purchase agreement with Teva, Ignyta is acquiring all of Teva's assets and worldwide rights relating to four oncology development programs in exchange for 1.5 million shares of Ignyta's common stock. Teva has agreed not to sell or otherwise transfer any of these shares until March 17, 2016, and Ignyta is required to register the resale of these shares with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) prior to such date.

The development programs Ignyta purchased from Teva include:

  • CEP-32496, which Ignyta has renamed RXDX-105, a potent small molecule inhibitor of BRAF, EGFR and RET that is currently in a Phase I/II dose escalation clinical trial;
  • CEP-40783, which Ignyta has renamed RXDX-106, a potent, highly selective, pseudo-irreversible inhibitor of AXL and cMET that is in late preclinical development;
  • CEP-40125, which Ignyta has renamed RXDX-107, a nanoformulation of a modified bendamustine with potential activity in solid tumors that is in late preclinical development; and
  • TEV-44229, which Ignyta has renamed RXDX-108, a potent, selective inhibitor of the atypical kinase PKCiota that is in preclinical studies. Ignyta has also acquired next generation PKCiota inhibitors in addition to the lead compound.

Ignyta also assumed all of Teva's ongoing obligations under certain contracts relating to the purchased programs, including the agreements under which Teva in-licensed rights to the assets.

Concurrent Equity Financing

Teva has agreed to purchase 1.5 million shares of Ignyta common stock for a purchase price of $10 per share, resulting in gross proceeds to Ignyta of $15 million. Ignyta has also entered into stock purchase agreements with several additional investors that will purchase an aggregate of 2.7 million additional shares of Ignyta common stock. The offering is expected to result in aggregate gross proceeds to Ignyta of approximately $41.6 million. The offering closed concurrently with the asset purchase. Ignyta did not use a placement agent in connection with this transaction.

A shelf registration statement relating to the shares of common stock issued in the offering was filed with, and declared effective by, the SEC. A prospectus supplement relating to the offering will be filed with the SEC. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any shares of common stock. No offer, solicitation or sale will be made in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale is unlawful.

About Teva

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE and TASE: TEVA) is a leading global pharmaceutical company that delivers high-quality, patient-centric healthcare solutions to millions of patients every day. Headquartered in Israel, Teva is the world's largest generic medicines producer, leveraging its portfolio of more than 1,000 molecules to produce a wide range of generic products in nearly every therapeutic area. In specialty medicines, Teva has a world-leading position in innovative treatments for disorders of the central nervous system, including pain, as well as a strong portfolio of respiratory products. Teva integrates its generics and specialty capabilities in its global research and development division to create new ways of addressing unmet patient needs by combining drug development capabilities with devices, services and technologies. Teva's net revenues in 2014 amounted to $20.3 billion. For more information, visit www.tevapharm.com.

About Ignyta, Inc.

Ignyta, Inc., located in San Diego, California, is a precision oncology biotechnology company pursuing an integrated therapeutic (Rx) and companion diagnostic (Dx) strategy for treating cancer patients. The company's goal with this Rx/Dx approach is to discover, develop and commercialize new drugs that target activated cancer genes and pathways for the customized treatment of cancer. It aims to achieve this goal by pairing each of its product candidates with biomarker-based companion diagnostics that are designed to identify, at the molecular level, the patients who are most likely to benefit from the precisely targeted drugs the company develops. For more information, please visit: www.ignyta.com.

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