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TARRYTOWN, N.Y., Jan. 22, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:PGNX) today announced that it has acquired Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage private biotechnology company with a small molecule chemistry pipeline aimed at enhancing cancer treatment.
"This is a pivotal moment for Progenics as we advance our plan to become a preeminent oncology company," said Mark R. Baker, chief executive officer of Progenics. "Molecular Insight's innovative small molecule compounds are an excellent complement to our internally developed oncology programs. This acquisition broadens our oncology pipeline, adding late-stage opportunities and targeting additional types of cancer while deepening our strategic focus on the PSMA antigen, which shows great promise as an oncology target."
Nelson K. Stacks, Molecular Insight's chief executive officer, "We are pleased to have made this agreement with Progenics. This puts our innovative compounds in the hands of an experienced commercial drug developer."
"We are gratified that Progenics will further develop our compounds to address unmet medical needs in important patient populations," said John W. Babich, Ph.D., Molecular Insight's president and chief scientific officer. "It is rewarding for Molecular Insight's team to see their important work have the potential to directly benefit patients suffering from cancer."
Under the terms of the all-stock transaction, Progenics exchanged 4,566,210 shares of its common stock (8.9% of the total outstanding post-transaction shares) for all of the outstanding shares of Molecular Insight, which will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Progenics. Molecular Insight has no debt. Progenics may make additional milestone payments to the former owners of Molecular Insight based on future commercial sales of the company's compounds. No royalties are due to the former owners of Molecular Insight.
Key elements of Molecular Insight's pipeline of targeted radiotherapy and molecular imaging compounds are:
Robert J. Israel, M.D., Progenics' senior vice president of medical affairs and clinical research said, "This is an exciting opportunity to enhance our ability to help patients suffering from prostate cancer, and to add a late-stage, ultra-orphan product candidate to our pipeline. In the coming months, we will work toward integrating our companies and develop an optimal path forward for key programs."
Progenics will discuss its acquisition of Molecular Insight in a conference call today at 8:00 a.m. EST. To participate, please dial (877) 250-8889 (domestic) or (720) 545-0001 (international) and reference conference ID 91616836. A live webcast will be available on the Events section of the Progenics website, www.progenics.com [1], and a replay will be available on the website for two weeks.
Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is discovering and developing innovative medicines to treat disease, focusing on cancer and related conditions, with a pipeline that includes product candidates in preclinical through late-stage development. Progenics' first commercial product, Relistor® (methylnaltrexone bromide) for opioid-induced constipation, is marketed and in further development by Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. for markets worldwide other than Japan, where Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. holds an exclusive license for the subcutaneous formulation. For additional information, please visit www.progenics.com [1].
The Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=9678 [2]
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