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Celgene Corp. (Nasdaq:CELG) of New Jersey said today it would buy Bedford-based Avila Therapeutics Inc., a privately held biotechnology company, for $350 million in cash.
Celgene will pay up to $195 million more in milestone payments contingent on the development and regulatory approval of AVL-292, Avila’s experimental blood cancer therapy currently in a Phase 1 trial, and will pay up to another $380 million in potential milestones, contingent on the development and approval of drug candidates developed from Avila’s technology platform.
Celgene sees completing the transaction in the first quarter and sees the deal as neutral to its 2012 forecasts.
Earlier this month, Avila triggered a $4 million milestone payment from partner Clovis Oncology Inc. after its CO-1686, a potential therapy for non-small cell lung cancer, was allowed an investigational new drug (IND) application by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. CO-1686 is expected to start Phase 1/2 studies in the U.S. and Europe in the second quarter of 2012.
In August, Avila moved from its original home in Waltham to a new facility in Bedford with 23,000 square feet, that more than doubled its space, in anticipation of growth as its product pipeline advances. Other partners of Avila include Sanofi and the Novartis Option Fund.
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