Acquiring Aevi

ROCKVILLE, Md.—Cerecor Inc. has completed its previously announced acquisition of Aevi Genomic Medicine, Inc. today, in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $15.6 million at close, plus contingent value rights (CVRs) for up to $6.5 million in subsequent payments based on clinical and/or regulatory milestones.

Cerecor’s pipeline now includes six clinical stage assets that suit the company’s stated focus on developing new medicines for unmet needs in rare diseases, particularly for pediatric patients. Cerecor will also continue to explore strategic alternatives for its non-core neurological assets, including CERC-301, as well as Millipred, its sole commercialized product.

Michael Cola has been appointed as the chief executive officer of Cerecor. Prior to Cerecor, Cola served as president and CEO of Aevi Genomic Medicine. He received a B.A. in biology and physics from Ursinus College, and an M.S. in biomedical science from Drexel University. The company appointed Dr. Garry Neil as chief medical officer. Before Cerecor, Neil served as chief scientific officer of Aevi Genomic Medicine. Neil holds a B.S. from the University of Saskatchewan, and an M.D. from the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine. Cola and Dr. Sol J. Barer will be joining the Cerecor’s board of directors during the first quarter of 2020. 

“We are extremely pleased to complete this acquisition,” said Dr. Simon Pedder, Cerecor’s executive chairman of the board. “We welcome Mike and Garry to Cerecor’s management team and Dr. Barer to our board of directors. The combined pipeline and leadership team create an exciting platform for the company to solidify itself as a leader in rare pediatric and orphan drug development. The team is focused on executing and advancing the pipeline to near-term inflection points throughout 2020 that can set the stage for multiple drug approvals in the years to come, starting as soon as 2021.”

This transaction expands the number of clinical programs in development. The emerging clinical-stage pipeline consists of six medicines:

• • CERC-002 (formerly AEVI-002), a fully-human, anti-LIGHT monoclonal antibody for Pediatric Onset Crohn’s Disease
  • CERC-006 (formerly AEVI-006), a potent, orally-available mTORC1/2 inhibitor for complex Lymphatic Malformations
  • CERC-007 (formerly AEVI-007), a fully-human, anti-IL-18 monoclonal antibody for auto-inflammatory diseases, including Adult Onset Still’s Disease (AOSD) and Multiple Myeloma)
  • CERC-801, an ultra-pure, D-Galactose substrate replacement therapy for PGM1-CDG
  • CERC-802, an ultra-pure, D-Mannose substrate replacement therapy for MPI-CDG
  • CERC-803, an ultra-pure, L-Fucose substrate replacement therapy for SLC35C1-CDG 

The pipeline focuses in orphan autoimmune, metabolic and oncology indications, with the potential for multiple product launches through 2023.

“Cerecor began this transformation roughly 15 months ago with the acquisition of the CERC-800s, which have the potential to be the first-ever approved treatments for congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDGs). Following the more recent divestiture of the majority of the commercial pediatric portfolio and the acquisition of Aevi, today the company is proud to advance a robust pipeline of six clinical-stage rare disease programs with the potential to be first-in-class medicines addressing high unmet needs of patients and families,” noted Cola.   

“Four of these programs are potentially priority review voucher eligible, with three already granted rare pediatric disease designation by the FDA. Cerecor is focused on achieving several critical inflection points throughout 2020, including initiation of pivotal studies for one or more CERC-800 program(s) and clinical proof-of-concept studies in patients with the recently integrated Aevi assets: CERC-002, CERC-006 and CERC-007,” he continued “We believe this combination of assets present a unique opportunity to efficiently deliver high impact medicines by leveraging biomarker-driven approaches in clinical development.”