Knight Therapeutics Inc. acquired 6.2 million common shares of Israel-based Protalix BioTherapeutics Inc. at an average price of 57 cents per share.

Knight now owns about 5% of Protalix's outstanding common shares. The shares were purchased by Knight's Israel unit Abir Therapeutics Ltd.

Knight acquired the Protalix shares for investment purposes.

"We purchased this position in Protalix to plant a seed for a long and healthy relationship that hopefully blossoms into Canadian and Israeli product rights to Protalix's promising pipeline. With over $700 million in cash, Knight will continue to grow its portfolio of innovative products for Canada and select international markets, with Abir, supported by our partnership with Medison, leading the charge in Israel," the company's CEO, Jonathan Goodman, said in a statement.