DOR BioPharma to acquire Gastrotech Pharma

By Jennifer Chiou

New York, Nov. 2 - DOR BioPharma, Inc. said it signed a binding letter of intent to acquire Gastrotech Pharma A/S.

Upon closing the acquisition, DOR will issue to Gastrotech stockholders $9 million in shares of DOR stock priced at the 10-day volume-weighted average price immediately prior to the close of the transaction.

DOR will issue up to 30 million shares and not fewer than 20 million shares. The company also will pay Gastrotech shareholders another $30 million in cash or stock upon the occurrence of a series of developmental, regulatory and commercial milestones, $20 million of which is payable for first product sales of $50 million and $200 million in any calendar year.

Following the acquisition, DOR noted its pipeline will be bolstered by the addition of two phase 2 programs, which include GTP-010, an analogue of glucagon-like peptide-1, and GTP-200, Gastrotech's wild type ghrelin compound, a naturally occurring peptide hormone produced in the stomach to stimulate appetite.

GTP-010 is being studied in collaboration with Eli Lilly & Co. in a phase 2, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial for the treatment of pain associated with irritable bowel syndrome.

A majority of DOR shareholders must approve the transaction.

"This acquisition will deepen our product pipeline and fortify DOR's focus on cancer/GI disease research through the acquisition of two clinical-stage programs that are complementary to orBec," Michael T. Sember, DOR president and chief executive officer, said in a news release.

DOR BioPharma is a Miami biopharmaceutical company. Its lead product, orBec, is for the treatment of intestinal graft-versus-host disease, a common serious complication of bone marrow transplantation for cancer.

Copenhagen-based Gastrotech is a private biotechnology company that develops therapeutics based on peptide hormones to treat cancer and gastrointestinal diseases and conditions.

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