Sugar-coated zebrafish

OXFORD, U.K.—In a single day, biotech company VASTox made major moves to expand its capabilities, announcing the acquisition of Cambridge, UK-based DanioLabs and Reading, UK-based Dextra Laboratories. The deals see the company expand its pipeline with two clinical and two preclinical programs, as well as expanding it R&D capabilities in the areas of chemical genomics using zebrafish and sugar chemistry.

 

DanioLabs was acquired for £15 million in shares and cash, with VASTox retaining its research facility and maintaining its 37 personnel. Meanwhile, Dextra had a lower price tag of £1.5 million, also paid in shares, and as with the other deal, VASTox will retain the chemistry facility and all 17 employees.

 

"The acquisitions of DanioLabs and Dextra represent a transforming development for VASTox," said VASTox CEO Dr. Steve Lee. "Following these transactions, plus the earlier deal with MNL Pharma in December 2006, VASTox now has a broad drug discovery pipeline with programs in clinical and discovery phases of development targeting neuro-disorders, cancer, ophthalmology, infectious diseases and regenerative medicine."