Pyxis Oncology positioned at forefront of Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) development
Sidley represented Pyxis Oncology, Inc. (Pyxis Oncology) (Nasdaq: PYXS), a clinical-stage company focused on developing next generation therapeutics to target difficult-to-treat cancers, in its agreement to acquire Apexigen, Inc. (Nasdaq: APGN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative antibody therapeutics for oncology, in an all-stock transaction.
This transaction illustrates that despite a challenging funding environment, disciplined biopharma companies can capitalize on the opportunities that these challenges create, while preserving their funding runway.
“This acquisition uniquely positions Pyxis Oncology at the forefront of antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) innovation by adding humanized antibody generation to our Flexible Antibody Conjugation Technology (FACT) ADC toolkit acquired from Pfizer, and expands our clinical pipeline into Phase 2 in select solid tumor types by leveraging our founding heritage of immuno-oncology expertise—all while maintaining our cash runway into 2025,” said Lara S. Sullivan, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Pyxis Oncology.
The Sidley deal team included partners Asher Rubin (Baltimore), John Butler (New York), Frank Rahmani and Idan Netser (both Palo Alto), Istvan Hajdu (New York), and William Blumenthal (Washington, D.C.); counsel Edward Sharon (Washington, D.C.); senior managing associates Nikita Ponomarev, Kostian Ciko (both New York), and Jonathan Westreich (Los Angeles); managing associate Jean Qiu (Shanghai); and associates Nithya Swaminathan, Max Xiao, and Jerry Ford II (all New York).
Additional information may be found in the press release.
