Celenex Acquired by Amicus Therapeutics for $100MM+
It is our pleasure to share with you that Rev1 portfolio company, Celenex, has been acquired by Amicus Therapeutics.
Celenex licensed technology from Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University to develop gene therapy treatments for Batten disease.
The Celenex acquisition underscores the tremendous opportunity for Life Sciences companies in Central Ohio, and we are proud to help support and fund companies, like Celenex, with our partners at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University. We are fortunate to have top research institutions in our backyard, and entrepreneurs and consumers are benefitting from their ability to help bring these exceptional solutions to market to change people’s lives.
Below is an excerpt from the announcement by Amicus Therapeutics. For more details, please read the full announcement.
CRANBURY, N.J., Sept. 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Amicus Therapeutics (Nasdaq:FOLD) today announced the signing of a definitive agreement in which Amicus Therapeutics will receive worldwide development and commercial rights for ten gene therapy programs developed at The Center for Gene Therapy at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University. The ten programs are licensed to Amicus from Nationwide Children’s Hospital through the acquisition of Celenex, a private, clinical-stage gene therapy company. The lead programs in CLN6, CLN3, and CLN8 Batten disease are potential first-to-market curative therapies for these rare, devastating diseases. Batten disease, also known as Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis (NCL), is a family of rare disorders that can be life-threatening and debilitating, with high unmet medical need.
“The in-licensing and acquisition of these gene therapy programs provide an extraordinary opportunity to transform the lives of thousands of children living with some of the most devastating forms of lysosomal storage disorders, for which there are virtually no treatment options today,” said John F. Crowley, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Amicus Therapeutics. “The groundbreaking work of Drs. Brian Kaspar and Kathrin Meyer at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, along with collaborator, Arthur Burghes, Ph.D., professor at The Ohio State University, on these programs has led to remarkably strong and consistent pre-clinical results and now, in CLN6 Batten disease, encouraging early results in children. This is science and biotechnology at its best. And it has at its core the love, drive, and passion of two remarkable parents, Gordon and Kristen Gray, who moved heaven and earth to partner with these researchers to advance these potentially life-saving medicines for their daughters and now for many thousands more. I am honored that they and their research team have chosen to entrust these ten programs to the passionate team of scientists and entrepreneurs at Amicus. I cannot think of a better foundation for Amicus’ entry into gene therapies.”
