Sorrento Therapeutics acquires Concortis Biosystems

Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SRNE; Sorrento) announced today that it has completed its acquisition of Concortis Biosystems, Corp., providing Sorrento with a comprehensive technology platform to create a new generation of homogenous antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) with site-specific toxin conjugation and consistent drug-antibody ratios. With the close of the deal, Sorrento has issued an aggregate of 1,331,978 shares of its common stock to the Concortis shareholders. Based on the closing share price on December 18, 2013, the transaction is valued at $11.3 million.

With the acquisition, Sorrento adds Concortis' proprietary cytotoxic payloads as well as C-lock^® and K-lock^® conjugation technologies that allow for site-specific toxin conjugation to the antibody. These new technologies may improve the overall stability and potency of the ADC. First-generation conjugation technologies lead to inconsistent drug-antibody ratios, which result in a heterogeneous mixture of ADCs. This variability has been a constraining factor in unlocking the full therapeutic potential for current-generation ADCs.

The ADC technology complements Sorrento's existing development programs, particularly its G-MAB^® antibody library. The G-MAB library contains a vast and diverse array of fully functional monoclonal antibodies, including antibodies that hit the historically difficult to target G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). In 2015, Sorrento expects to begin clinical testing of its monoclonal antibody targeting PD-L1 as well as its ADC targeting VEGFR2.

"While our near term clinical opportunity exists in a bioequivalence trial of Cynviloq™ beginning in 2014, this ADC technology acquired from Concortis will help maximize the potential of our G-MAB library and fuel our R&D pipeline over the long-term," said Henry Ji, Ph.D., President and CEO of Sorrento. "The successes of first-generation ADCs have paved a path for new conjugation technologies. Our ownership of each of the key components of an ADC – the antibody, conjugation chemistry, linkers, and toxins – gives us a distinct and unique advantage in the field."

SOURCE Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.