Cancer drugmaker LaNova to sell to China’s Sino Biopharm

Sino Biopharmaceuticals plans to pay up to $950.9 million to acquire LaNova Medicines, which previously licensed drugs to Merck and AstraZeneca.

LaNova Medicines, a cancer drugmaker that previously licensed medicines to Merck & Co. and AstraZeneca, has agreed to be acquired by Sino BioPharmaceutical in a deal worth up to $950.9 million.
In an agreement disclosed Tuesday, Sino BioPharm will buy the approximately 95% of LaNova it doesn’t already own. Accounting for LaNova’s cash holdings, the net payment made by Sino Biopharm will total about $500 million.
Once the deal is complete, LaNova will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Sino Biopharm, which previously invested in LaNova’s Series C1 financing that was announced last October.