NaPro BioTherapeutics, Inc., a life science company, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement, subject to the approval of NaPro's stockholders, to sell its worldwide generic injectable paclitaxel business to Faulding Pharmaceutical Co., a subsidiary of Mayne Group Limited, for $71.7 million plus outstanding receivables, all of which will be paid in cash upon the closing of the transaction. Out of the proceeds of the sale, NaPro will retire approximately $21.7 million in debt and payables owed to its development and marketing partner, Abbott Laboratories.
The Company anticipates that the sale, which is subject to conditions customary in these types of transactions, will close in the fourth quarter of 2003. Under the terms of the agreement, Faulding will acquire NaPro's paclitaxel manufacturing assets, yew plantations, more than one hundred domestic and international issued and pending paclitaxel patents, a worldwide registration dossier, worldwide development and supply agreements, inventories, and related liabilities. NaPro will retain access to all its intellectual property not directly related to generic injectable paclitaxel. Wells Fargo Securities, LLC is advising NaPro in this transaction.
In a related transaction, NaPro understands that Faulding has agreed to acquire Abbott Laboratories' marketing and distribution rights for NaPro paclitaxel in North America and along with it, Abbott Laboratories' holdings of two million shares of NaPro common stock. Upon the consummation of this sale NaPro will exit the generic paclitaxel business worldwide, and its development agreements with Abbott and Faulding will terminate.
"The management and Board of NaPro believe NaPro's transaction with Faulding is in the best interests of all NaPro stockholders and will urge its approval by stockholders," stated Leonard Shaykin, chairman and chief executive officer of NaPro.
"Subsequent to this sale, and after the retirement of debt to Abbott and other required obligations, NaPro will exit this calendar year with approximately $60 million dollars in cash on its balance sheet. We believe that the Company will have a controllable burn rate prior to incurring clinical expenses, a seasoned pharmaceutical research, development and clinical team, and an exciting pipeline of early oncology and genomic therapeutic products moving toward the clinic," continued Shaykin.
"We anticipate that the proceeds of this sale will allow us to bring at least two new proprietary therapeutic candidates to the clinic. These have been developed internally and are the fruits of our research and development efforts in both oncology and "gene editing" over the last number of years." "We wish our good partner of ten years, Faulding Pharmaceutical, all success with their new acquisition and thank our stockholders for their support."