BDI, Negotiates Investment with US Celsion... "Focusing Capabilities on Bio"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] VIDIA is accelerating its transformation into a bio company by proceeding with investment discussions with a Nasdaq-listed bio company following its push to acquire Eleison, a pancreatic cancer drug development company.

On the 11th, VIDIA announced that it has signed a Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA) with the US Nasdaq-listed company ‘Celsion’ and is currently conducting discussions on equity investment and technology verification processes.

Celsion is a pharmaceutical company specializing in anticancer drug development, possessing an innovative anticancer portfolio including ▲induced chemotherapy agents ▲immunotherapies ▲RNA/DNA-based therapeutics.

Among its main pipelines, the first-line treatment for liver cancer, ‘ThermoDox,’ has been designated as a ‘Fast Track’ by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is undergoing Phase 3 clinical trials related to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment. An interim clinical result announcement is scheduled for July, drawing significant attention from industry insiders.

ThermoDox is expected to become a representative first-line liver cancer treatment following the well-known targeted therapy ‘Nexavar,’ as previous studies showed that the ‘overall survival rate’ improved by up to 33% compared to the placebo group. Another pipeline, ‘GEN-1,’ is an ovarian cancer treatment currently undergoing Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials simultaneously, aiming to complete the ongoing trials by next year.

A VIDIA official stated, “Through this CDA signing, we are evaluating the technological value of Celsion and discussing specific investment plans,” adding, “In addition to Celsion, we are reviewing additional acquisitions targeting companies with pipelines at the completed stage of global Phase 3 or higher.”

He continued, “Bio is a new growth engine business that VIDIA is promoting, and from a long-term perspective, we aim for stable market entry and minimizing clinical risks through strategic M&A,” adding, “Many companies pursuing bio as a new business have often paid excessive premiums externally, but VIDIA’s basic policy is to avoid paying unnecessary premiums as much as possible by participating in new share subscriptions.”

Meanwhile, VIDIA signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to acquire ‘Eleison Pharmaceuticals,’ which holds four new drug pipelines, on the 11th of last month. The on-site due diligence has recently been completed, and the acquisition is planned to be finalized through a new share subscription method within the first half of this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.