Concordia Healthcare acquires Pinnacle Biologics

Dec 24 2013

Newly listed company's purchase adds new products and increases R&D strength

Concordia Healthcare Corp., an integrated, specialty healthcare company focused on the acquisition of legacy pharmaceutical products and medical devices and the acquisition and/or development of orphan drugs, announced today that it has acquired Pinnacle Biologics, Inc., a U.S.-based biopharmaceutical company specializing in legacy pharmaceuticals which have the potential for development as orphan drugs to treat cancer indications in addition to those for which they have previously been approved.

Concordia is completing a year of rapid, strategic growth culminating with this acquisition and the conditional approval of the listing of Concordia's common shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange (Ticker Symbol: CXR).

"The completion of our $34.5 million equity raise last week and listing approval on the TSX were major milestones for Concordia, enabling the completion of this transaction," said Mark Thompson, chief executive officer of Concordia.  "The addition of Pinnacle Biologics begins an exciting new phase of growth for the Company. Concordia will be able to support the further development of Pinnacle's unique oncology products as well as new indications for rare forms of cancer and, potentially, other diseases."

One of Pinnacle's on-market products includes PHOTOFRIN^®, a photosensitizer used in photodynamic therapy (PDT) of tumors.  PDT with PHOTOFRIN^® is a two-stage process.  The first stage is the intravenous injection of PHOTOFRIN^®.  Clearance from a variety of tissues occurs over 40-72 hours, but tumors retain PHOTOFRIN^® for a longer period. Illumination with 630 nm wavelength laser light constitutes the second stage of therapy.  Tumor selectivity in treatment occurs through a combination of selective retention of PHOTOFRIN^® and selective delivery of light.

Pinnacle's PDT with PHOTOFRIN is FDA approved for multiple indications including the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and esophageal cancer. PHOTOFRIN also is approved for high-grade dysplasia (HGD) in Barrett's esophagus (BE) in North America. It has Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) for cholangiocarcinoma (cancer of the bile duct) and as adjuvant therapy to surgery for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. The product is available in the USA, several major European countries, Japan, several Latin American and Southeast Asian markets.

"Being a part of Concordia and supported by re-invested revenue from its existing products, Pinnacle can continue to develop its world class science and, in particular, move forward with a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial using PDT with PHOTOFRIN to treat a very rare form of bile duct cancer for which we have Orphan Drug Designation in the United States," said Robert S. Altman, Ph.D., president of Pinnacle Biologics.