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Thursday, January 29, 2009
Cambridge’s TheraGenetics bought by U.K. firm Avacta
Streaming Video: Mass High Tech All-Stars Thought Leadership Roundtable
In their own words: Tod Woolf, CEO, RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp.
Diagnostics startup TheraGenetics Ltd. has been bought by Avacta Group PLC, a U.K.-based biophysics company that was spun out from the University of Leeds in 2004.
TheraGenetics, with a base in the U.K. and its U.S. headquarters in Cambridge, will be purchased for an undisclosed amount of cash and stock in publicly traded Avacta. The company is developing and commercializing diagnostic tests to help make better treatments for central nervous system (CNS) disorders.
TheraGenetics is led by CEO Richard Kivel, a Mass High Tech All-Star in 2002. “I will remain on as CEO of TheraGenetics as they complete the integration with Avacta as well as the integration with the other CNS company they are acquiring called Curidium," Kivel said. "I am very pleased with the acquisition and will continue to travel between Boston and London and still maintains a residence in both cities. This acquisition comes at a perfect time for TheraGenetics. The company was planning to raise additional capital in late 2009 and the acquisition by Avacta has allowed the company to focus building the science and business.”
Under the terms of the agreement, the U.S. operations of TheraGenetics will remain in Cambridge, Mass. In July 2008, TheraGenetics licensed from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto patented genetic markers linked to side effects of a popular class of anti-depressant drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI).
Editor’s note: The original release about the purchase of TheraGenetics did not state what CEO Richard Kivel’s role would be after the merger, and he was not available, until today, Kivel’s e-mailed statement about continuing on at TheraGenetics post-merger is below in its entirety.
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