Momenta Pharmaceuticals has signed an agreement to acquire the Sialic Switch assets of Virdante Pharmaceuticals, including intellectual property and cell lines relating to the sialylation of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and other proteins. Momenta made an upfront payment of $4.5 million and may make additional payments totaling $51.5 million if all development and regulatory milestones are achieved.

“Virdante’s Sialic Switch technology represents an exciting approach to potentially regulate anti-inflammatory activity of proteins,” said Ganesh Venkataraman, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Momenta. “Sialylation complements our existing technology platform and we look forward to advancing this technology in development programs, including biobetters and novel products.”