F-star Therapeutics Signs On to invoX Pharma for $161 Million to Stay Afloat

invoX, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong’s Sino Biopharmaceutical, announced on June 23 that it would acquire F-star Therapeutics, an immuno-oncology-focused company working to develop a unique tetravalent bispecific antibody to treat various types of cancer. The deal consists of a $161 million cash payment which will aid in the development of F-star’s current clinical trials after it announced it accrued significant debt over the last year while adding to Sino’s repertoire of immuno-oncology therapies.

Leveraging F-star’s Distinctive Tetravalent Bispecific Antibody Technology

F-star’s primary focus is on its patent-protected tetravalent bispecific antibody technology, which is currently being implemented in three clinical trials. Tetravalency gets its name from its function in using four binding sites to enhance bispecific antibody activity. F-star coined this mechanism ‘2 + 2’ because two are located at natural binding sites and two at new Fc antigen-binding sites. 

The United Kingdom and United States-based company says that having four binding sites enhances the ability to deliver focused and potent immune activation. Additionally, because the tetravalent platform uses a natural human antibody format, it makes for an easier manufacturing process and a favorable clinical safety profile. 

F-star is working on three clinical trials with its tetravalent platform. One is in a Phase 2 clinical trial studying head and neck cancers. The other two are Phase 1 trials looking to improve checkpoint inhibitors and chemotherapy outcomes. The company is also working on a stimulator of interferon genes (STING) agonist Phase 1 clinical trial. 

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Terms of the Deal to Bring invoX and F-star Together

InvoX was incorporated in March 2021 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sino Biopharmaceuticals designed to reach the global market outside China. Together, the two companies have a plethora of therapies and potential therapies in their pipeline to address unmet medical needs worldwide. Adding F-star’s technology to its lineup will broaden its immuno-oncology horizons further.

The press release stated that invoX would purchase all remaining shares of F-star at $7.12 per share, valuing the company at $161 million. The announcement prompted a sharp spike in F-Star’s stock price overnight. F-star and invoX’s Board of Directors unanimously agreed on the deal and said the deal is expected to close in the second half of 2022. 

F-star’s deal with invoX comes at a crucial time after it announced in a May 10 SEC filing that it is facing a large deficit and actively looking for funding through collaboration partnerships or other sources. Without the deal with invoX, F-star said it would have been able to continue operating until the first quarter of 2023. 

Though any restructuring of F-star’s program or staff has yet to be announced, its long-time CEO, Eliot Forster will leave the company six months after the deal closed according to another SEC filing. 

The deal is good news for both companies, which will benefit from the symbiotic relationship. F-star will now have the funding and resources to continue developing its tetravalent platform, and invoX will have the added assets to broaden its scope of potential treatment targets. The world will keep a close eye on the tetravalent platform and its potential to benefit immuno-oncology.

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Author

Reed Slater