SuperGen, Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Montigen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held oncology-focused drug discovery and development company headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT. Montigen’s assets include its R&D team, a proprietary drug discovery technology platform and optimization process, CLIMB, and late-stage pre-clinical compounds targeting aurora-A kinase and members of the tyrosine kinase receptor family. One of the Montigen compounds is expected to be the subject of a pre-IND meeting later this year.

SuperGen will pay Montigen’s stockholders $18 million upon the closing of the transaction, consisting of $9 million in cash and $9 million in SuperGen common stock. SuperGen will pay the Montigen stockholders an additional $22 million in shares, upon achievement of specific regulatory milestones. The proposed transaction is expected to close in March of this year.

“The acquisition of Montigen is an exciting new chapter for SuperGen as we continue to expand our position in the oncology and hematology markets,” said James S. Manuso, Ph.D., SuperGen’s president and chief executive officer. “Montigen’s capabilities in rapid targeted drug discovery and optimization are expected to generate multiple preclinical development candidates for selection into clinical testing. We believe this acquisition will add force to our internal preclinical development efforts and will complement our ongoing in-licensing efforts focused on later stage compounds. These combined resources should create value for our stockholders by expanding the depth of our product pipeline, maximizing the utility of our core competency in clinical development and expanding opportunities for future commercialization.”

“Montigen is very pleased to become part of SuperGen,” said Dr. David J. Bearss, founder and chief scientific officer. “Our common goal is to rapidly discover and develop novel, targeted products for cancer patients. This transaction provides Montigen with access to the resources and infrastructure that will enable us to accelerate our research productivity and maximize the value of our existing and future drugs in development.”

At the close of the transaction Dr. Bearss will join the SuperGen management team as vice president, chief scientist, along with his 12-person R&D team. Montigen’s existing facilities in Salt Lake City will be taken over by SuperGen.