Canadian company buys Echelon

Canadian biopharmaceutical company AEterna Zentaris has closed on its acquisition of Salt Lake-based Echelon Biosciences Inc., a deal which company officials say marks AEterna's entry into the American biosciences industry and a step forward for Echelon technologies.

According to a statement released Thursday by AEterna, the amount of the transaction could reach up to $5.6 million. At closing, the Canadian firm paid $2.7 million by the issuance of 443,905 AEterna common stock shares at $6.11 per share. The residual amount will be payable upon reaching pre-defined development and commercial milestones through the issuance of additional AEterna Zentaris common shares over a period of up to three years, the company stated.

W. Tim Miller, Echelon president, said Thursday that AEterna will continue operations in Salt Lake City. The early stage drug development company specializes in transduction signaling technology, which may have some application in fighting some forms of cancer.

"The plan is to keep operations here and to make investments in both facilities and capital," Miller said.

"I don't think anyone wants to quantify what those investments might be. But in every acquisition AEterna has made, they have made investments in capital and people. I don't think that pattern will change with the acquisition of Echelon."

Echelon employs about 30 people at its Research Park facility. Dennis Turpin, chief financial officer of AEterna, confirmed that layoffs or cutbacks at the Salt Lake facility are unlikely.

"We're buying a leader in their field," Turpin said of Echelon's personnel. "We need them."

In a statement released Thursday, Miller called AEterna Zentaris "an exciting growth company with a rich pipeline of clinical and preclinical drug programs, an experienced and successful development infrastructure, impressive and established relationships with pharmaceutical partners, and where excellent scientific synergy exists with Echelon's early stage drug development projects."

The Canadian company's resources will allow Echelon technologies to move more quickly through the clinical testing and approval processes, Miller said.

Echelon was co-founded in 1997 by University of Utah professors Glenn Prestwich and Dale Poulter, with G. Thomas Heath, a former Pfizer executive. It was formed from a project under the Center for Cell Signaling, a state of Utah Center of Excellence.

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