Cytochroma, a clinical-stage speciality pharmaceutical company, has appointed Dr Peter Moldt to its board of directors. He is a partner in Novo A/S, part of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, which he joined in 2009. Before that, Dr Moldt served as CEO of Curalogic, a development-stage biopharmaceutical company, and as chief operating officer of 7TM Pharma, a drug discovery company, both of which he co-founded. Dr Moldt has also worked with NeuroSearch, where he specialised in preclinical and clinical drug development. Dr Moldt will replace Ulrik Spork, who joined Cytochroma's board in 2008, also representing Novo A/S.

Curalogic's board of directors has recommended that the company be liquidated after it failed to secure any new development projects. The company was in talks with seven Danish and foreign biotech companies but the board was unable to agree to any transaction, the company said. Curalogic estimates that the current proceeds per share stand at DKK4.60-4.80, assuming that the liquidation will be initiated by the end of the year and that the company will have around DKK281 million ($48.1 million) in cash and cash equivalents; that 3,246,976 warrants will be exercised against payment of DKK 6.1 million; and that the costs of termination and liquidation will be around DKK6-8 million. Curalogic currently has around DKK281 million in cash and cash equivalents, though this is likely to fall to DKK273-275 million following termination and liquidation costs. The company has scheduled an extraordinary general meeting for December 11th, where the board will put forward the proposal of liquidation.

Two top executives at the Danish pharmaceutical company Curalogic have resigned, as the company looks likely to go into liquidation. CEO Peter Moldt and CFO Helle Busck Fenavig will stay on until the company re-establishes a biotechnology pipeline or pays cash and cash equivalents back to shareholders, which is still expected to take place this year. Curalogic decided to stop developing its pipeline of oral immunotherapies this year. Last December top-line Phase III data showed that the dose of its ragweed allergy treatment was ineffective. The ragweed pollen extract reached the immune system, but the company could not determine why the dose was ineffective and finding the optimal formulation would require more research. Curalogic said that the development of its pipeline would be set back by several years and increase the risk profile. Subsequently, it planned to license in new, less risky products to replace its pipeline. An analyst told Scrip that the company was unlikely to find new products as it has failed to do so since the beginning of the year. He said that the company had not made a public announcement about going into liquidation, but this was the most likely scenario. The company was unavailable for comment.

The dealmaking column is a survey of recent transactions, including strategic alliances, mergers & acquisitions, and financings, in the life sciences industries. Deals are listed by the following industry sectors: in vitro diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and research/analytical instrumentation and reagents. All transactions are excerpted from Windhover's Strategic Transactions database, providing comprehensive transaction coverage from 1991 to the present.