Almirall: 719 Employees Will Be Transferred To AstraZeneca PLC
November 4, 2014
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Barcelona, Spain-based Almirall announced today it has completed a deal with AstraZeneca that will transfer all rights to its respiratory franchise. The deal will give all rights for the development and commercialization of Almirall’s existing respiratory business, as well as revenues from the company’s partnerships and pipeline of investigational therapeutics. Along with the products, 719 Almirall employees with transfer to AstraZeneca.
The agreement was first announced on July 30, 2014, and included an upfront payment of $875 million in cash. Additional developmental, launch and sales-related milestones can add up to $1.22 billion.
Almirall’s respiratory franchise includes Eklira (aclidinium), Duaklivir, a mix of aclidinium and formoterol (LAMA/LABA), LAS100977 (abediterol), an M3 antagonist beta2-agonist (MABA) platform currently in pre-clinical development (LAS191351, LAS194871), and Phase I (LAS190792) preclinical programs. In addition, an Almirall subsidiary, Almirall Sofotec, which focuses on device development, is part of the deal.
“This global collaboration will allow us to maximize the potential value of our exciting respiratory franchise and AstraZeneca is the perfect partner to do this,” said Jorge Gallardo, president of Almirall in a statement. “Moreover, the deal has given us a strong financial baseline to accelerate our strategy and to start focusing our resources in becoming a top Dermatology global player with an additional interest in other specialist driven areas. Excellence in R&D will remain a key part of Almirall’s business going forward and we are confident that this agreement will make a significant contribution to the company’s long-term growth.”
AstraZeneca has a strong respiratory portfolio, which includes Symbicort and Pulmicort, as well as numerous pipeline products. The addition of aclidinium and the aclidinium/formoterol, which are used in a proprietary Genuair device, will provide AstraZeneca patients a choice between a metered dose inhaler device and a dry powder inhaler.
“Our agreement with Almirall brings strategic and long-term value to AstraZeneca’s strong respiratory franchise, one of our key growth platforms,” said AstraZeneca Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot in a press release. “We will benefit from immediate and growing product revenues which we anticipate will be rapidly accretive to earnings. Chronic respiratory disease affects hundreds of millions of people around the world. By combining our innovative portfolios and leveraging AstraZeneca’s global scientific and commercial capabilities, we will strengthen our ability to address the entire spectrum of care in asthma and COPD. I very much look forward to welcoming the Almirall people to our company.”