Date: 2012-06-13
Type of information: Company acquisition
Acquired company: Proximagen (UK)
Acquiring company: Upsher-Smith Laboratories (USA)
Amount:
Terms: Upsher-Smith Laboratories has announced that it has agreed to acquire Proximagen Group, a European biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for diseases of the central nervous system and inflammation. Upsher-Smith intends to retain operations in Cambridge and London, England and integrate them to form a robust research and development platform for future growth.
The two companies are working closely as both commercial partners and strategic shareholder since 2008.
The acquisition provides Upsher-Smith with expanded research and development capabilities and a platform for future growth in product development. Proximagen’s pipeline contains a number of programs in various stages of development across a number of therapeutic classes including central nervous system, inflammation, oncology and ophthalmology.
The transaction is subject to approval by Proximagen shareholders and other terms and conditions set out in the joint offer announcement released by Upsher-Smith and Proximagen earlier. The transaction is also subject to the approval of the High Court of Justice in England and Wales.
Details: Upsher-Smith’s central nervous system pipeline in clinical development includes USL255, an investigational extended-release topiramate for the management of epilepsy in adults, which is being studied in an ongoing international Phase III clinical trial.
Upsher-Smith is also developing USL261, an investigational intranasal midazolam for the rescue treatment of seizures in patients on stable anti-epileptic drug regimens who require control of intermittent bouts of increased seizure activity, frequently referred to as seizure clusters. USL261 has been granted orphan drug designation for this use by the FDA and is currently in Phase III of development.
Another Upsher-Smith development program involves USL260 (tonabersat), an investigational drug in Phase I of development that is a potential first-in-class neuronal gap junction modulator that is also being explored as a potential treatment for epilepsy.
Related: SNC diseases
Inflammatory diseases
