Date: 2015-05-19
Type of information: Company acquisition
Acquired company: OctreoPharm Sciences (Germany)
Acquiring company: Ipsen (France)
Amount: up to €50 million
Terms: * On May 19, 2015, Ipsen announced the signature of an agreement to acquire OctreoPharm Sciences, a private German life sciences company focusing on the development of innovative radioactive labeled compounds for molecular imaging diagnostics and therapeutic applications. Ipsen plans to maintain the company location and staff to ensure successful transition of know-how and expertise. Ipsen expects to complete its acquisition once closing conditions have been cleared.
Under the terms of the agreement, which is subject to closing conditions, OctreoPharm’s shareholders are eligible to receive up to a total of approximately €50 million for the purchase of 100% of the company’s shares in the form of an upfront payment and downstream payments contingent upon clinical and regulatory milestones.
Details: The transaction fits into Ipsen’s strategy to extend the scope of its portfolio and its leadership in neuroendocrine tumors (NET). OctreoPharm is developing an innovative theranostic approach for the management of NET based on a somatostatin receptor antagonist peptide, OPS202 and OPS201. The therapeutic compound is a tumor cell-selective somatostatin antagonist peptide labeled with 177Lutetium (177Lu) for use as ‘peptide receptor radionuclide therapy’ (PRRT) for the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors, and is currently in preclinical development. The diagnostic compound is an NET imaging tool utilizing positron emission tomography (PET, PET/CT), and is currently in clinical development.
The acquisition includes an agreement with Eckert and Ziegler, one of OctreoPharm’s shareholders, to provide contract manufacturing services for the radio-labeling of the therapeutic compound. Last September, OctreoPharm Sciences has received FDA orphan drug designation for its new radiotracer OPS202, based on a next generation antagonistic somatostatin analog for the management of neuroendocrine tumors.
Related: Cancer - Oncology - Rare diseases
