Announced separately yesterday, RXi Pharmaceuticals reported that it will change its name to Galena Biopharma and separate its programs into two publicly traded companies. Galena will focus on the development of targeted cancer therapies; and RXi will focus on the development of RNAi-based therapeutics. RXi Pharmaceuticals will be spun-off from Galena over the next several months and will remain based in Worcester, Massachusetts. Galena Biopharma is now headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon and trades on the NASDAQ stock exchange, maintaining the ticker RXII until the close of the spin out.
"Galena Biopharma’s relocation to the metropolitan Portland area is a clear reflection of Oregon's growing prominence in the bioscience arena,” said Dennis McNannay, executive director of the Oregon Bioscience Association. “This decision demonstrates the growing momentum of our industry. With seasoned industry executives like Mark Ahn choosing Oregon, we look forward to growing the number of companies that will ensure high paying jobs for Oregon's well-educated base of workers.”
Galena Biopharma Inc.’s launch will create 15 executive and research jobs in its Lake Oswego headquarters. Oregon Bio provided consultation and relocation assistance, and the Governor’s Strategic Reserve Fund provided incentives that helped the east-coast firm to launch and site here. Galena joins Oregon’s 631 bioscience establishments and 13 life science research institutions.
“Locating the company in Oregon makes sense because we are a cancer therapeutics company and the Pacific Northwest has established a growing global prominence as a renowned cancer research center,” said Mark Ahn, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Galena Biopharma. “We look forward to growing our ties with the local community as we look to launch our Phase 3 clinical trial in the first half of next year.” Ahn’s ties to Oregon include serving as a professor at Willamette University.
Ahn will be an afternoon speaker at tomorrow’s Oregon Bio annual conference, “Platforms, Pathways and Pioneers: Oregon’s Bioscience Conference,” to be held at PSU. Last week, Ahn was elected to the 2012 Board of the Oregon Bioscience Association.
Galena joins a growing bio industry base in Oregon. Last year, Oregon Bio released its most recent economic impact study showing the life sciences and biotechnology footprint continues to grow.
The impact study’s data from 2009 show the sector directly contributed $4.1 billion in revenue, at least 14,220 direct jobs and $882 million in biotech workers’ personal income to the state economy in 2009. This is three times greater than the economic impact of the state’s wine industry. Including the industry’s multiplier and both direct and indirect impacts, Oregon’s biotechnology and life sciences sector has 36,800 jobs each with an aggregate average wage of $62,000, contributes $239 million in personal and property tax revenue, for an overall $7.2 billion in economic impact.
About Galena Biopharma
Galena Biopharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: RXII) is a Portland, Oregon-based biopharmaceutical company that develops innovative, targeted oncology treatments that address major unmet medical needs to advance cancer care. For more information please visit us at www.galenabiopharma.com.
Galena is developing targeted cancer immunotherapies—NeuVax and FBP. NeuVax consists of the E75 peptide derived from HER2 combined with the immune adjuvant granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Treatment with NeuVax stimulates cytotoxic (CD8+) T cells in a highly specific manner to target cells expressing any level of HER2. NeuVax is given as an intradermal injection once a month for six months, followed by a booster injection once every six months. Based on a successful Phase 2 trial, which achieved its primary endpoint of disease free survival (DFS), the FDA granted NeuVax a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) for its Phase 3 PRESENT (Prevention of Recurrence in Early-Stage, Node-Positive Breast Cancer with Low to Intermediate HER2 Expression with NeuVax™ Treatment) study. The Phase 3 trial is expected to commence in the first half of 2012.
Also, the company is developing Folate Binding Protein-E39 (FBP) targeted vaccine to prevent recurrence in gynecological cancers such as ovarian and endometrial adenocarcinomas. The FBP vaccine consists of the E39 peptide combined with the immune adjuvant granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF). FBP is over-expressed (20-80 fold) in more than 90% of ovarian and aggressive endometrial cancers, as well as 20–50% of breast, lung, colorectal, and renal cell carcinomas. FBP has very limited tissue distribution and expression in non-malignant tissue and has many years of validation as an ideal immunotherapy target. Phase 1 and 2 trials are expected to commence by year end 2011.
About Oregon Bioscience Association
The Oregon Bioscience Association advocates for its members and the industry to create opportunity through community, collaboration and commercialization. Oregon Bio promotes the growth and quality of the bioscience industry in Oregon and continually seeks ways to support sustainability and growth in the life science, bioscience, biotechnology and device manufacturing industries and to create acceleration initiatives so members can achieve their full scientific, economic and social potential. Oregon Bio, a nonprofit membership association, is the Oregon affiliate of the Biotechnology Industry Organization.
The association’s 2010 economic impact study showed that Oregon has 631 bioscience establishments and 13 life science research institutions generating a cumulative $7.1 billion in economic activity, 36,800 jobs, $1.9 billion in personal income and $273.9 million in local and state tax revenues. More about the Oregon Bioscience Association can be found at www.oregonbio.org.