A Medical Device Daily

Roche (Basel, Switzerland) reported that it has completed the acquisition of 100% of the issued and outstanding shares and warrants of Arius Research (also Basel).

On Sept. 19, the Ontario Superior Court, Canada, approved the Plan of Arrangement previously approved by the security holders and announced in a press release dated 23 July 2008. All other conditions of closing have been satisfied.

Earlier this month Arius reported that RiskMetrics ISS Canada (Toronto), an independent proxy firm, recommended that Arius shareholders and warrant holders vote in favor of the proposed plan of arrangement whereby Roche will acquire Arius' outstanding shares and warrants (Medical Device Daily Sept. 11, 2008).

Arius is the developer of a proprietary antibody platform called FunctionFirst, which rapidly identifies and selects antibodies based on their functional ability to affect disease before progressing into clinical development. This antibody generation engine has enabled Arius to develop a pipeline of more than 500 antibody drug candidates. The FunctionFirst technology platform will allow Roche to further strengthen its developmental portfolio, initially within the areas of oncology and inflammatory diseases where this new technique offers potentially broadtherapeutic applications.

In other dealmaking activity, Kuros Biosurgery (Zurich, Switzerland) and Aeris Therapeutics (Woburn, Massachusetts) reported that Kuros has granted Aeris an exclusive license in the field of lung volume reduction to certain patent rights Kuros exclusively licensed from the American Red Cross that cover the delivery of certain drugs in a fibrin sealant. In return for the license, Kuros will receive up fronts, milestones and royalties on the sale of Aeris' lead product, the AeriSeal Biologic Lung Volume Reduction System, an investigational emphysema treatment. Aeris is currently preparing for the initiation of Phase 3 clinical trials for the AeriSeal BLVR system.