A San Francisco bioscience company co-founded six years ago by Yale University has been sold to a California biopharmaceutical company in a deal valued at $851 million.
Proteolix Inc. signed a definitive agreement with Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Emeryville, Calif.
Proteolix is in early-stage trials on a treatment for blood-related malignancies, including multiple myeloma, and cancerous tumors.
Under the deal, Onyx will pay $276 million when the deal closes in the fourth quarter, plus additional payments totaling $575 million contingent on Proteolix achieving certain development milestones for its lead compound carfilzomib, including U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.
Proteolix was founded in 2003 based on scientific research developed at Yale and Caltech.
Onyx, in collaboration with Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc., is developing Nexavar, a small molecule drug approved for the treatment of liver and kidney cancer.
