BioSante, Cell Genesys to merge

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. BioSante Pharmaceuticals and Cell Genesys will merge in an all-stock transaction, the two companies have announced.

Under the terms of the agreement, Cell Genesys stockholders will receive slightly less than one-fifth of a share of BioSante common stock for each share of Cell Genesys common stock that they own, or about 35 cents a share, totaling about $38 million. Upon completion of the merger, BioSante stockholders are expected to own 60.4% of the outstanding shares of the combined company, while Cell Genesys stockholders will own 39.6%.

The merged company, which will operate under the BioSante name, will focus mostly on LibiGel, a testosterone gel in phase 3 trials as a treatment for female sexual dysfunction.

“This merger allows BioSante to secure additional funding required for the continued phase 3 development of LibiGel for FSD and offers the potential to expand our product development portfolio with the addition of GVAX Immunotherapies,” BioSante president and CEO Stephen Simes said in a statement.