Wednesday, May 24, 2023
Pyxis Oncology and Apexigen announced a definitive agreement by which Pyxis Oncology will acquire Apexigen in an all-stock transaction.
This acquisition uniquely positions Pyxis Oncology at the forefront of antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) innovation by adding humanised antibody generation to Flexible Antibody Conjugation Technology (FACT) ADC toolkit acquired from Pfizer, and expands clinical pipeline into Phase 2 in select solid tumour types by leveraging founding heritage of immuno-oncology expertise—all while maintaining the cash runway into 2025.
With Pyxis Oncology’s strong cash position and its commitment to further sotigalimab’s development, this transaction will greatly enhance the opportunity to efficiently advance sotigalimab for patients suffering from a variety of difficult-to-treat cancers.
Additionally, coupling APXiMAB antibody platform with Pyxis Oncology’s complementary ADC technology platform will magnify the therapeutic potential of the APXiMAB platform.
Sotigalimab is a CD40 agonist with best-in-class potential. It has demonstrated clear anti-cancer activity in patients who previously progressed on PD-(L)1 inhibitors, with impressive, durable remissions. This activity not only be synergistic with immune checkpoint inhibitors, but also rescue their activity in patients who are refractory or have relapsed.
