A Medical Device Daily
Lumera (Bothell, Washington), a developer of photonic communications, said that it will no longer invest in its life science tools subsidiary Plexera Bioscience, as the result of an agreement to merge with privately held GigOptix (Palo Alto, California), a developer of integrated circuits for optically connected communication systems.
Plexera makes tools, content, and methods for proteomic discovery of therapeutic antibodies as well as predictive biomarkers.
Lumera said that its decision to exit the life science business will allow the newly combined company to focus its resources on the electro-optic space. Day-to-day operations in Plexera are being discontinued immediately, it said, "in order to minimize cash expenses while Lumera seeks ways to realize value from Plexera's assets and intellectual property."
Lumera formed the Plexera unit last year, saying it was establishing the unit "to facilitate its drive toward successful market commercialization and the transition from a research and development company (Medical Device Daily, July 17, 2007).
At the time, Tom Mino, president/CEO of Lumera, said the effort was to clarify "the purpose, business requirements and market opportunities of both Plexera and Lumera to our investors, customers, and prospective partners."
In unveiling the merger with GigOptix, C. James Judson, Lumera chairman, said, "We're proud of the accomplishments and progress we've made in both our electro-optic and bioscience businesses. However, we do not have enough cash resources to see both businesses reach their full commercial potential. After carefully considering our strategic options, it became clear that the greatest shareholder value would be derived by focusing on our electro-optic business.
"Lumera's strategic roadmap calls for growing our EO product offerings to include optical modules utilizing our innovative polymer technology. GigOptix is currently a leader in electronic engines for high speed optical interconnects. Integrating our superior polymer modulators with GigOptix's leading drivers, receivers and electronic engines will create products that are highly competitive in the communications marketplace and other markets for optically connected devices and systems."
The combined company will be listed on the NASDAQ under the name GigOptix, Inc., and will be led by Dr. Avi Katz, as CEO and chairman, CEO and chairman of GigOptix.
In other dealmaking: BayPoint Biosystems (Houston), a private personalized medicine company, reported a technology licensing agreement with the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston). BayPoint obtains exclusive, worldwide commercial rights to certain proteomic technologies as well as clinical biomarkers that predict therapeutic response for certain ovarian and breast cancers.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
James Erickson, founder and president/CEO of BayPoint, said that the agreement "will enable BayPoint to bring innovative personalized medicine products to the ovarian and breast cancer markets. The application of this technology also provides our pharmaceutical partners with new insights into how their drugs are working, in which cancers their drugs are most likely to be effective and how to rationally combine experimental drugs with approved therapeutics."
Gordon Mills, MD, director of the Robert J. and Helen C. Kleberg Center for Molecular Markers at M. D. Anderson, said of the relationship: "The new relationship with BayPoint should help us achieve our goals of fulfilling the promise of personalized medicine benefitting our patients."