LineaRx Acquires Vitatex to Tap into the $17.6 Billion Global Circulating Tumor Cell Market

On August 8, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that LineaRx, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Applied DNA Sciences, announced the acquisition of Vitatex, a cancer cell analysis company. This acquisition will expand LineaRx’s potential market and shorten the development cycle of its anti-cancer products.

Qiang Zhao, Director of Medical Research at Vitatex, and Huan Dong, Director of Product Research, will assume relevant positions at LineaRx. Dr. Wentian Chen, Founder and President of Vitatex, will also join LineaRx as Honorary Consulting Scientist and Principal Investigator.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Vitatex will receive an initial stock consideration of 300,000 shares in LineaRx, valued at approximately $25 million. LineaRx will make milestone payments of up to $1 million to LineaRx, consisting of $800,000 in stock and $200,000 in cash.

Headquartered in New York, USA, Vitatex is a high-tech company specializing in the research and development, manufacturing, and sales of reagents for invasive circulating tumor cell (iCTC) testing. Vitatex’s main products include antibody-based capture kits for CTCs, iCTCs, circulating endothelial cells (CECs), and hematopoietic immune cells. These products have been widely acclaimed by the academic community. The company is dedicated to advanced personalized medicine, providing cancer patients with information on tumor cell metastasis through invasive circulating tumor cell (iCTC) testing, thereby improving treatment outcomes and reducing healthcare costs.

Vitatex has developed a hyper-personalized redirected T-cell therapy targeting highly mutagenic and metastatic cancer cells. Vitatex can capture live tumor cells and culture them in cell media, thereby optimizing treatment strategies for each individual cancer patient.

Vitatex is developing a diagnostic test leveraging its functional Cell Adhesion Matrix (CAM) technology. Circulating tumor cells captured by CAM can be classified and counted using an automated flow cytometer, providing early indication of cancer cell metastasis in preoperative patients and enabling physicians to formulate chemotherapy regimens more rapidly and accurately.

The global market for circulating tumor cells is projected to reach $17.6 billion by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20%.

LineaRx is a wholly owned subsidiary of Applied DNA Sciences, headquartered in New York, USA. LineaRx is dedicated to commercializing the deep expertise and experience of Applied DNA Sciences in DNA design, manufacturing, and chemical modification through large-scale polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

LineaRx has also entered into a licensing agreement with the Research Foundation for The State University of New York, as Vitatex’s intellectual property is based on work conducted by Dr. Wentian Chen during his tenure as a professor at Stony Brook University Hospital. LineaRx further stated that it will collaborate with other cancer diagnostic companies to enhance the functionality and sensitivity of its cancer diagnostic assays.

“We are delighted to join LineaRx, as we believe their technology will shape the future of cancer treatment,” said Dr. Wentian Chen, Professor of Medical Oncology Research at Stony Brook University and Founder and President of Vitatex. “Our collaboration creates opportunities for early cancer diagnosis, personalized targeted cell therapies, and prediction across multiple cancer indications.”

“We are honored that Vitatex executives have joined our team and are leveraging their powerful technology on our platform,” said Dr. James Hayward, President and CEO of LineaRx. “We believe that close integration with LineaRx’s services and technology offerings will expand our target market and shorten the development cycle for our anti-cancer products.”

(Compiled by Cheng Tao)