Austcancer's Galenica acquisition finalised

Australian Cancer Technology ("AustCancer") (ASX:ACU) has finalised due diligence on its US$5 million acquisition of Alabama-based vaccine developer Galenica Pharmaceuticals.

The acquisition is now subject only to the approval of AustCancer shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting on July 19th. Once approval is given, Galenica founder Dr Dante Marciani will join AustCancer and continue to run the business. Privately-financed Galenica is developing three families of semi-synthetic immune enhancers -- also known as adjuvants -- which are used as therapeutics or as vaccines. The company has compounds in two Phase I and one Phase I/II clinical trial in US cancer centres.

Yesterday, Galenica announced an agreement with New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre to evaluate the company's immune-enhancer GPI-0100 in several Phase II clinical trials.