By Kim Coghill

Washington Editor

In a $15.9 million deal, Abgenix Inc. acquired Hesed Biomed Inc., a private biotechnology company that owns intellectual property and technology in catalytic antibodies.

As part of the agreement, Abgenix is issuing about 540,000 shares of common stock it said were valued at $25 each and paying about $360,000 in cash in exchange for all of Hesed¿s shares. Abgenix also assumed approximately $2 million of Hesed¿s debt. The acquisition will be accounted for using the purchase method of accounting.

Abgenix, of Fremont, Calif., currently has 86.2 million outstanding shares. The company¿s stock (NASDAQ:ABGX) closed Wednesday at $31.42, up 31 cents.

Hesed is a virtual company based on work being conducted at the University of Texas in Houston. ¿The acquisition had a small impact on our expenses because it did not require integration of employees or facilities,¿ Ina Cu, Abgenix¿s manager, investor relations, told BioWorld Today.

¿We do plan to integrate their catalytic antibody technology with our XenoMouse, XenoMax technology,¿ Cu said. ¿It complements our existing technology very beautifully.¿

The CAb is a monoclonal antibody that cleaves and permanently inactivates a target molecule, and goes on to locate and cleave other identical targets in a continuing process (a catalytic effect) while circulating in the body.

¿The acquisition of Hesed provides Abgenix with a new class of therapeutic antibodies to build a large and diversified portfolio of new and important antibody treatments for serious diseases,¿ Scott Greer, chairman and CEO of Abgenix, said in a prepared statement. ¿This acquisition is a continuation of Abgenix¿s strategy of maintaining its leadership position in antibody technologies.¿

Abgenix¿s technology includes the XenoMouse and XenoMax, which enable rapid generation and selection of high-affinity, fully human antibody product candidates to disease targets appropriate for antibody therapy.