Apricus Bio To Buy Topotarget USA

Apricus Biosciences has agreed to acquire Topotarget USA, Inc., a subsidiary of Topotarget A/S, a public Danish company. Topotarget USA owns Totect (Dexrazoxane HCl), the only drug approved by the FDA to treat the leakage of chemotherapy drugs from veins into surrounding tissues. This complication is known as anthracycline extravasation, and can lead to infections and tissue death.

With the acquisition, Apricus Bio will move into the commercialization and sales of oncology and oncology supportive care pharmaceuticals. Topotarget USA has a sales infrastructure, sales team, and a revenue-generating product with “strong future growth potential,” according to an Apricus statement. Apricus will pay approximately $2 million in stock in upfront payments for Topotarget USA and as much as $2 million more in stock if certain milestones are achieved. The sale is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close by the end of the year

“This is an important step for the Company’s drug commercialization process. Since I came on board Apricus Bio in 2010, the goal has been to advance the company into a fully commercial pharmaceutical company,” said Dr. Bassam Damaj, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Apricus Bio. “In addition to commercializing products that incorporate our NexACT technology, such as Vitaros, Femprox, and MycoVax, we have also been looking for specific acquisitions that fit into our core focus of adding approved, revenue-generating drugs to our product portfolio. We are pleased to complete the first in what we believe will be a series of acquisitions taking us further into product commercialization and revenue generation, not only in the U.S. but also abroad.”