NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Eureka Genomics plans to merge with Nanobac Pharmaceuticals under a stock and cash deal, the bioinformatics company said today.
Under a memorandum of understanding, Eureka stockholders will receive new shares of Nanobac common stock and own 85 percent of the combined company, which will operate under the Eureka Genomics name. Nanobac has already provided Eureka with initial funds, and the deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2009.
"We believe this merger is the right move for Nanobac and could lead to a significant increase in shareholder value," Nanobac Co-Chairman Benedict Maniscalco said in a statement.
Eureka CFO and COO Didier Perez called the merger "an important step in our R&D business development efforts," and said it should improve shareholder value for privately held Eureka as well.
Nanobac possesses a drug discovery program focused on inhibiting, destroying, or neutralizing calcifying nanoparticles. The company also has a diagnostic program through which it offers IVD kits and reagents for detecting CNPs, and it has a lab, Nanobac OY Clinical Laboratory, in Finland. The company also has a bioanalytical services business focused on detecting and eliminating CNP contamination from cell lines, animal and human derived materials, and diagnostic procedures.
Perez said the merger will advance Eureka's "next-generation functional genomics platform technology and bioinformatics analyses" that can help to "transform the development of highly valuable, cost-effective diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines, and clean-tech products."
Nanobac had signed a deal a year ago to acquire DNAPrint Genomics, but that deal fell through after Nanobac was unable to raise additional funds before a deadline on March 31, 2008. DNAPrint Genomics has since closed its operations.