San Diego-based BioTox Sciences, a non-clinical CRO, is acquiring fellow San Diego CRO Bio-Quant from its owner Apricus Biosciences, according to PharmaTimes.

Apricus will receive a minimum of $5 million in upfront and future earn-out payments, with the potential for these to reach $20 million over the next 10 years based on BioTox’s currently projected revenues.

Apricus has retained all research conducted by Bio-Quant for another Apricus subsidiary, NexMed, as well as the profitable Bio-Quant diagnostic kit business.

With the divestiture of Bio-Quant, Apricus Bio has decided to outsource its primary pre-clinical CRO work for NexMed and narrow its focus to commercializing late-stage products.

“While our Bio-Quant subsidiary has been driving revenues over the past year, this divesture represents a key strategic decision for Apricus Bio, as licensing revenues from Vitaros have increased during the first half of 2011 and are currently projected to constitute the majority of our revenue stream for the remainder of 2011,” said Dr. Bassam Damaj, chairman, president and CEO of Apricus.

BioTox has focused mainly on GLP studies and was looking to expand its operations both in San Diego and in non-GLP services, the company noted. With the acquisition of Bio-Quant, BioTox said it can now “scale its operation and reach to become a true national and global presence.”