Friday, May 16, 2008

Xanthus picked up by British firm Antisoma for $52M

Xanthus Pharmaceuticals Inc. reports it has agreed to be acquired by Antisoma plc, a U.K.-based biotechnology company, for $52.2 million.

Privately held Xanthus, which has headquarters in Cambridge and labs in Montreal, Canada, has raised more than $88 million through two rounds of private capital financing. Its Massachusetts backers include Oxford Biosciences Partners, HealthCare Ventures, Still River Funds and Kestrel Management LLC.

"It's very much a win-win transaction for the Xanthus and its workers, Antisoma and Xanthus investors," said Michael Lytton, a general partner at Oxford. He said that his Boston venture capital firm is among Xanthus' largest investors.

Founded in 2001, Xanthus is focused on the development of drugs to treat cancer. Xanafide, the firm's lead drug candidate, is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. In December 2006 Xanthus won approval for Orphan Drug status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for xanafide.