Collidion to buy 80% stake in Plex Pharmaceuticals

US-based healthcare company Collidion has entered a definitive agreement to purchase 80% equity stake in the early stage biotechnology company Plex Pharmaceuticals for an undisclosed amount.

Under the deal, Collidion will deliver management and operational support to boost Plex Pharmaceuticals’ drug discovery programmes, which include treatments for Parkinson’s disease, glioblastoma (GBM) and cataracts.

Plex president and chief scientific officer Dr G. Sridhar Prasad said: "Plex’s drug portfolio is led by a combination treatment approach for glioblastoma, as well as development candidates for Parkinson’s disease and cataracts.

"This transaction further validates and represents a tremendous opportunity for us to advance our programmes into pre-clinical and clinical development, as well as invest in further development of our drug candidates for additional indications."

GBM is one of the most serious forms of cancer that often results in a combination of aggressive treatments to target the tumour site.

The biotechnology company has developed a new co-drug molecule, in which two drug molecules are combined in the form of a single conjugate and later released as two single-agents, each targeting the tumour site(s) of the patients.

Used in Plex’s formulation, the first drug molecule has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the second molecule is currently undergoing clinical investigation for the treatment of multiple systemic cancers.

In January last year, UK-based company GlobalData issued a report stating that the GBM treatment market is expected to reach $3.3bn by 2024.

Plex’s cataracts programme focuses on developing a new topical drug candidate that would be able to treat and / or delay the progression of cataracts.