Galera Therapeutics, Inc. (OTC: GRTX) has announced the completion of its acquisition of Nova Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing treatments for highly resistant forms of breast cancer. This acquisition marks a strategic shift for Galera from toxicity reduction to anti-cancer therapeutics, with a focus on advanced breast cancer.
The lead program under this new strategy is a Phase 1/2 trial of Nova Pharmaceutical’s Clinical Stage Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS) Inhibitor, used alongside standard-of-care treatments nab-paclitaxel and alpelisib, targeting metaplastic breast cancer. The acquisition is bolstered by a $3 million investment from a syndicate led by Ikarian Capital, purchasing Galera common stock. This financial injection, combined with Galera's existing cash balance, is expected to fund operations through the data readout of its lead program and into 2026.
Galera plans to leverage NCI grants, academic partnerships, and the I-SPY 2 network to efficiently expand its clinical dataset. The company also intends to support a second trial in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) in collaboration with the I-SPY 2 consortium and a third trial of Avasopasem in hormone-receptor positive (HR+) advanced breast cancer patients resistant to conventional therapy, expected to start enrollment in the first half of 2025.
Dr. Mel Sorensen, President & CEO of Galera, highlighted the complementary roles of Dismutase Mimetics and NOS inhibitors in cancer treatment, emphasizing their potential in addressing resistance to conventional therapies and in immuno-oncology. The combined efforts of Galera and Nova aim to advance product candidates to the next stage of clinical development, focusing on the hardest-to-treat subsets of advanced breast cancer.
The transaction was unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies and by Nova's stockholders. The new Board of Directors includes members from both Galera and Nova, ensuring a blend of expertise and experience in the life science industry. Financial and legal advisory roles were fulfilled by Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Lucid Capital Markets, LLC, Sidley Austin LLP, and Cooley LLP, respectively.
Galera Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company with a portfolio of small molecule superoxide dismutase mimetics, historically focused on reducing the toxicities of conventional chemoradiotherapy in head and neck cancer patients. Nova Pharmaceuticals, on the other hand, is a clinical stage biotechnology company targeting molecular mechanisms driving resistance to current treatments in triple negative and metaplastic breast cancer.
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding Galera's expectations for its cash runway and data from current and future clinical trials, subject to various risks and uncertainties that could affect actual results.
