Nasdaq-listed biotechnology company Biotie Therapies has acquired corporate venturing-backed Synosia for $121m just three months after lining up a potential $725m in royalty payments.
Biotie will issue 161,448,371 shares to acquire Switzerland-based Synosia.
After the merger, Timo Veromaa will continue as executive president of Biotie, while Synosia’s chief executive, Ian Massey, will become chief operating officer and president of US Operations, a new position.
Stephen Bandak, Synosia’s chief medical officer will have the same role for Biotie. Chris Piggott, Biotie’s chief business officer will continue in this role in the combined entity.
Synosia’s drugs target problems with the central nervous system and in October Belgium-based UCB Pharma invested $20m of equity in the portfolio company’s series C round and promised up to $725m in milestone payments plus royalties for successful drugs.
The remaining $10m in Synosia’s C round came from venture capital firms Versant Ventures, 5AM Ventures, Aravis Venture, Investor Growth Capital and Swiss Helvetia Fund and Denmark-based medical foundation Novo.
In January last year, Synosia (formerly known as Synosis Therapeutics) raised SFr32m ($29m) in its series B round as its portfolio of six clinical-stage compounds acquired from Roche, Novartis and Syngenta were showing promising signs of development.
As Synosis, the company had raised $32.5m in its first round from its venture consortium and signed a partnership with Roche after its launch in 2006 out of the incubation unit of Versant Ventures, according to news provider VentureWire.