Hanmi Pharmaceutical has invested US$7 million to secure 670,000 shares in Canadian biotech firm Aptose Biosciences. According to pharmaceutical industry sources on Sept. 8, Hanmi Pharmaceutical announced its decision to acquire 668,449 shares of Aptose through a stock purchase agreement. This follows the term sheet contract that was signed with Aptose last month.
Furthermore, Hanmi Pharmaceutical has agreed to potentially acquire ordinary shares worth US$4 million based on the achievement of certain milestones. However, they will not acquire more than 19.9% of common shares.
This equity investment was decided as Aptose’s ordinary share price recorded over US$1 for 10 consecutive trading days on the NASDAQ market last July, pushing the company towards potential delisting and, hence, to end research on the compound “luspartercept.”
Aptose plans to utilize Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s investment for further luspartercept research funds. The company is planning both single and combination administration extended clinical trials for luspartercept, which requires significant funding. Specifically, in single-administration expanded clinical trials, they aim to verify the efficacy of 120 mg of luspartercept in AML patients, including those with FLT3 mutations that do not respond to existing FLT3 inhibitors. In addition, they also plan to proceed with combination trials of 80 mg luspartercept and existing AML drug venetoclax.
With this investment, Hanmi Pharmaceutical plans to play a proactive role in overcoming AML. Its goal is to systematically respond to the rapidly changing drug development environment and achieve sustainable growth. They also intend to continuously secure overseas markets through a strategic partnership with Aptose.