Pfizer to Acquire Drug Development Company Serenex

Durham, N.C. — Drug giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) is acquiring RTP-based Serenex, which is developing drugs to fight cancer.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Serenex is seeking to develop means of targeting a protein called Hsp90 that is involved in cell growth and survival. Development of inhibitors targeting Hsp90 could be useful in treating solid and hematological tumors as well as other neurodegenerative diseases, according to Serenex.

“The agreement to acquire Serenex is the latest step in the execution of Pfizer’s strategy to expand our commitment to oncology, an area where Pfizer plans to establish a leadership position,” Jeffrey Kindler, chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer, said in a statement.

In January, the National Cancer Institute signed a research and development agreement with Serenex to explore the cancer-fighting potential of a Serenex compound. The NCI will evaluate whether Serenex’s compound known as SNX-5422 can fight a form of lung cancer. Serenex also is working with CHDI, a non-profit organization, to seek development of compounds that could combat Huntington’s disease.

Last June, Serenex completed a $26 million round of financing, with four new investors participating in the “D” round. The company also secured an additional $5 million working capital debt facility.

Intersouth Partners in Durham participated in the round as one of the previous investors in Serenex. New investors included Cornell Capital Partners, Pearl Street Ventures, MC Life Science Ventures and Pac-Link Bio Venture Capital. Garheng Kong, who is a partner at Intersouth, is chairman of Serenex.

Previous investors in addition to Intersouth include Ritchie Capital, Lilly Ventures, Mediphase Venture Partners, Takeda Research Investment and Seaflower Ventures. The company has raised some $81 million in venture capital.

“We are pleased that our proprietary screening platform and product pipeline will become part of the superb scientific environment at Pfizer,” said Richard Kent, the chief executive officer at Serenex. “We are confident that Pfizer has the vision and resources necessary to leverage these new assets in its continuing efforts to produce much-needed new medicines.”

In making the acquisition, Pfizer labeled Hsp90 as “an exciting target in the fight against cancer.”

In addition to acquiring the rights to drugs Serenex has in development, Pfizer also will gain the Durham company’s drug-discovery technology and a compound library of other Hsp90 inhibitors.

“The Serenex oncology candidate extends Pfizer’s substantial internal research efforts to develop novel treatments for cancer, a leading cause of death in the United States and much of the world,” said Martin Mackay, Pfizer’s president for global research and development. “The library of early-phase compounds also has wide potential for utility in a range of neurodegenerative and anti-inflammatory disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and arthritis.”