To bolster up its biotechnology capabilities, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire CoGenesys, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, for $400 million.
In its recently completed strategic review, Teva identified biopharmaceuticals - and primarily biogenerics - as a key, long-term growth opportunity for the Company. With this acquisition, Teva is taking a significant step towards advancing its strategic goals, demonstrating its commitment to becoming a leading player in the biogenerics market, as that market evolves.
Under terms of the agreement, Teva will pay a purchase price of $400 million cash, funded from its internal resources. The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of each company and by the shareholders of CoGenesys and is subject to customary closing conditions (including approval under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976), and is expected to close during the first half of 2008.
Commenting on the transaction, Shlomo Yanai, president and CEO, Teva, said, "We are very excited about this strategic acquisition. Biopharmaceuticals will be a long-term growth driver for Teva, and this transaction represents an important spring-board in our efforts to establish ourselves among the leaders in this market. CoGenesys' breadth of technologies and the depth of their team and pipeline complement Teva's large-scale operations, extensive resources and its proven expertise in bringing drugs to market. This combination will enable us to realize our vision of delivering high quality, affordable biopharmaceuticals worldwide. CoGenesys' acquisition reflects our commitment to capture the significant long-term prospects we believe the biogenerics market will offer."
Based on over 15 years of peptide- and protein-based drug development research, CoGenesys brings to Teva advanced technological platforms (including Albumin Fusion, a novel approach to long acting biopharmaceuticals), which are key to establishing Teva's leadership position in biogenerics. In addition, its innovative pipeline addresses a broad spectrum of therapeutic categories. The CoGenesys team includes some 70 professionals, many of them Ph.D.-level scientists working in a 48,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility, located in Rockville, Maryland.
"We are excited to enter into this agreement with Teva, a true leader in the global pharmaceutical industry," stated Dr. Craig Rosen, co-founder, chief scientific officer and executive chairman, CoGenesys. "Teva has already demonstrated a commitment to our organization and shares our vision of developing high-value peptide- and protein-based products. Teva's resources, its extensive clinical experience and regulatory expertise create the optimal environment for the CoGenesys team to continue and successfully commercialise our scientific work."
CoGenesys was established in 2005 as a division within Human Genome Sciences Inc. (HGSI) to focus on early drug development and was spun off as an independent company in June 2006. The company's strategy is to demonstrate safety and proof of concept in clinical trials followed by selectively licensing or partnering of compounds to fund further development.