KOO - Most of what RVX has is non-capital losses as they are just the costs of doing business. They are salaries, rents and fees to institutions doing trials, etc. They were not buying assets rather costs to develop assets. Now, if another company bought just that developed asset (like Apabetalone), they would be acquiring a capital asset. RVX's losses are non-capital but you bought an asset (RVX shares) so those are capital losses or gains. It appears that capital losses can't be carried to an acquirer. If the acquired has capital losses, it requires tax planning to crystalize some capital gains to use as much of them up before the acquistion as possible and turn them into cash. Just prior to the acquisition date, there is a year-end that the acquired can use them and the next day, any leftovers disappear. Non-capital losses can pass on to the acquirer if the business of the acquired continues within the acquirer but can only be used against losses in that business or sometimes similar business. By similar business, I don't know if biotech would be considered similar or CVD biotech is similar or what. Tax agencies thinking can vary a lot from what we think. 

There is a lot of similarity to this in personal taxes. You own shares in RVX so those are capital assets that have capital losses or gains. Your heirs can't inherit your capital losses. If you leave your RVX shares to them on your passing, there is a tax event on the date of your passing. It is deemed that you sold the shares to your heirs on that day at market value. If there is a capital loss, your estate can use that loss against capital gains in its final tax return. Any unused portion can't be passed on to your heirs. It is deemed that your heirs paid you market value that day so that is their ACB should they sell the shares. If you had moved the shares to a TFSA and the deemed sale to your heirs on the day of passing created a capital gain or loss, your estate could not use the loss or would not pay tax on the gain. The heirs would be responsible for any gain or could use any loss from that market value that you sold the shares to them on the day of your passing. It appears that capital losses can't be passed on whether corporate of personal.