Microcide-Althexis: Merge to License
Executive Summary
Big Pharma in-licensing has been kind to anti-infectives start-ups Cubist and Versicor, giving them near-term products and significant valuations. Now Althexis, hoping to capitalize on similar opportunities, is merging with Microcide. The deal is a way of jumpstarting the still nascent Althexis and re-starting Microcide, re-setting its valuation and development clock. With Microcide's cephalosporin, technology-based Althexis would get the product focus it lacked. And the deal comes with $60mm in new money from investors who've bought CEO Mark Skaletsky's vision and want him to repeat his success at GelTex.