SAN DIEGO–Although it did not disclose the terms of the transaction, Novasite Pharmaceuticals in mid-June announced the acquisition of Boston, Mass.-based PsyCheNomicS, a drug discovery company focused on diseases of the central nervous system (CNS).
The PsyCheNomicS acquisition reportedly provides Novasite with high-quality CNS drug leads, Novasite's area of therapeutic focus, but it also provides the company with the expertise of the founder of PsyCheNomicS.
"[We have] substantially augmented our management team with the appointment of Dr. James Hauske, a drug discovery and development veteran, whom we welcome as executive vice president of drug discovery," says Dr. Tim Harris, president and chief executive officer of Novasite. "[Psy-CheNomicS'] new compound assets complement Novasite's existing pipeline and our core structure-function analysis and single-cell screening technologies."
Unlike many mergers and acquisitions that come about from a targeted acquisition strategy or after a collaborative effort between two companies, this deal came about more as an introduction.
"We hadn't worked with each other before at all," notes Sue Romano, director of business development for Novasite. "One of venture capital groups we were working with introduced us to each other. It wasn't just Novasite going out and finding them and reeling them in. It was just a good match for both companies."
Also, Romano notes, the acquisition was attractive because the entire PsyCheNomicS company was Hauske. "It was a virtual company," she says. "Dr. Hauske created compounds based on a discovery platform he had discovered, but there were no employees or facilities to absorb, which was another reason this was a good match. We're a lean organization with just over 20 people, so this was a good way to add assets without adding a lot of burden."
One of the chief assets that Novasite has gained through the acquisition is a dopamine reuptake inhibitor that is farther along in development than anything Novasite had already, Romano reports. PsyCheNomicS also had other compounds that were fairly close to clinical trials and additional leads.
"There are some other interesting compounds that are in the early stages and all in the same general disease realm," Romano says. "Overall, their compounds are complementary to what we were already working on, without much overlap."
