XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (Pink Sheets:XTLBY); TASE:XTL) has entered into a term sheet to acquire MinoGuard Ltd., which develops drugs for mental health diseases. MinoGuard's lead compound is SAM-101 for the treatment of schizophrenia.
XTL has acquired an exclusive license to use MinoGuard's entire technology in return for royalties on sales and milestone payments throughout the clinical development process. MinoGuard was founded in 2007 in order to commercialize combination therapies for treating psychotic diseases, focusing on schizophrenia. The transaction is subject, among other things, to due diligence studies, examination of the regulatory track for the continued development of the drug and the approval of the company's board.
MinoGuard has successfully completed a phase IIa prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial conducted on about 70 schizophrenics.
MinoGuard was founded by Mor research Applications Ltd., Clalit Health Services technology transfer office, on the basis of a discovery made by Prof. Yechiel Levkovitz and Dr. Shlomo Mendlovic, heads of departments at the Shalvata Mental Health Center. SAM-101, MinoGuard's leading drug, is based on a combination of existing anti-psychotic drugs and a recognized medicinal compound.
XTL CEO David Grossman said, "The acquisition of MinoGuard would be in line with the company's strategy to focus on late-stage clinical development drugs and treatments with a known safety profile, which address large markets with clear unmet clinical needs."
He added "It is our intention to continue with our strategy to broaden our drug development pipeline".
The trial's endpoints were met, proving that SAM-101 improves the positive symptoms of the disease as well as the patients' cognitive state, minimizes the negative symptoms (social parameters and patient cognition) and reduces side effects such as overweight among patients.
Schizophrenia is a severe and chronic mental illness and one of the most common affecting the majority of social and mental functions, mood, perception, thought and cognitive functions. According to the US National Institute of Mental Health 1.1% of the adult population in the US has schizophrenia. Research by Decision Resources found that the schizophrenia treatment industry in 2009 was worth $ 5.6 billion.
XTL's share price rose 2% on the TASE today to NIS 0.51.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 27, 2011
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