Biocure Technology to acquire Atriva Therapeutics in reverse takeover

Canadian biopharmaceutical firm Biocure Technology Inc (CSE: CURE) has secured a deal to acquire German company Atriva Therapeutics GmbH by way of a reverse takeover.

Shareholders of Atriva will receive no less than 75% of the securities of the resulting issuer, with the current shareholders of Biocure Technology holding the remainder.

Under the terms of the proposed transaction, Atriva has agreed to pay Biocure an exclusivity fee of CAD$15,000 per month for a minimum of three months.

A finder’s fee of US$2 million will also be paid through the issue of Biocure shares at a price to be determined by both parties and in line with the concurrent private placement.

Upon completion of the transaction, Biocure will change its name to Atriva Therapeutics Inc and be assigned a new ticker code by the Canadian Stock Exchange.

The reverse takeover is subject to various terms and conditions including satisfactory due diligence, implementation of a US$15 million private placement and shareholder approvals.

Anti-viral therapies

Atriva is a biopharmaceutical company developing host-cell-targeting anti-viral and immuno-modulatory therapies.

The company was established by a team of industry experts including leading scientists in viral disease research.

They aim to develop novel, highly-efficacious and safe therapies for the treatment of severe diseases caused by RNA viruses with a high unmet medical need and huge cost burden to health care systems worldwide.

These include influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, dengue fever and hantavirus infections.

Inhibiting viral replication

Atriva’s lead product zapnometinib (previously known as ATR-002) is a novel, orally-administered small molecule drug aimed at inhibiting viral replication and rebalancing the body’s immune response.

To date, zapnometinib has been through two Phase 1 clinical trials to demonstrate safety and tolerability in healthy volunteers.

The company also obtained approval from Germany’s regulatory authority for a Phase 2 study to evaluate the drug’s efficacy and safety in hospitalised patients with severe COVID-19.

Treatment of severe infections

Atriva said it would continue to focus its resources on the development of zapnometinib for the treatment of in-patients with severe influenza infections.

“We aim to significantly reduce the number of critically-ill patients in hospital who would otherwise be referred to intensive care units and require more invasive or expensive treatment options,” the company said.

“Zapnometinib has the potential to fundamentally improve the outcome of severe virus infections, resulting in massive savings for entire societies and their national health care systems.”

Since inception, Atriva has secured over CAD$57 million in debt and equity investments from various institutions, including the European Investment Bank.