Imugene steps in to buy Biolife Science

Imugene (ASX:IMU) has arranged to acquire Melbourne-based cancer immunotherapy company Biolife Science in an all-stock transaction.

The company will purchase 100% of Biolife Science in exchange for 300 million Imugene shares.

To support the acquisition, Imugene has also completed a $2.5 million capital raising, allocating 250 million shares to clients of Forrest Capital at $0.01 per share.

Biolife Science’s core asset is HER-Vaxx, a cancer vaccine based on an immunotherapy platform developed by scientists at the University Medical School in Austria.

HER-Vaxx is designed to stimulate the production of anti-tumour HER-2 antibodies, giving it applications in a range of tumours including breast cancer and gastric cancer.

Biolife has completed a phase I human trial in breast cancer. Pending approvals, the company aims to commence a US phase II study in gastric cancer in 2015 as part of an IND application.

In an ASX presentation detailing the purchase, Imugene said development will concentrate on gastric cancer first, because a phase II trial will likely to be easier to recruit for and take a shorter time to complete compared to breast cancer.

Biolife had been planning a reverse takeover, listing and capital raising with Perth-based Acuvax (ASX:ACU) worth up to $5 million. But in July, the companies announced they were calling off the proposed acquisition after failing to raise the minimum $4 million subscriptions during global investor roadshows.

Imugene (ASX:IMU) shares were trading 25% higher at $0.015 as of around 1.30 pm on Wednesday.