Biovertis AG To Acquire Morphochem AG
Vienna, Austria, December 1st, 2005 - Biovertis AG announces today that it has acquired more than 95% of Morphochem in a share for share and milestone related cash deal. Morphochem AG will become a subsidiary of Biovertis. To enable the seamless continuation of its product pipeline, the company will keep the R&D operations of Morphochem in Munich and Basel and maintain the professional teams at both sites. The new entity will have a total staff of 45 and will be led by Biovertis' CEO Erich Felber. Sijmen de Vries will support the integration process in his role as CEO of Morphochem and as Executive Management member of the new entity.
In conjunction with the acquisition, Biovertis has raised € 10 mn in a series B financing led by Techno Venture Management (TVM). Life Sciences Partners (LSP), IKB and other investors also participated in the round.
The acquisition creates a well financed, integrated biopharmaceutical company with an advanced pipeline and distinct drug discovery and development expertise in the field of anti-infectives. The combined pipeline includes several anti-bacterial programmes, all of which have novel therapeutic modes of action and a strong potential to combat the increasing threat of bacterial resistance. Oxaquin, the most advanced candidate, is scheduled to enter clinical development in mid-2006.
"We are looking forward to joining forces with Morphochem," says Erich Felber, CEO of Biovertis. "With our combined pipeline, a highly productive drug discovery process and dedicated drug development expertise, the new entity is ideally positioned to deliver innovative antibiotics with significant market potential providing attractive investment opportunities for current and future investors."
"This transaction creates a leading European player in the field of anti-infectives with exceptional assets and outstanding market potential", comments Alexandra Goll, General Partner at TVM.
"As Chairman of the Supervisory Board, I am delighted to see Biovertis mature from a technology spin-off into a clinical stage company by mid of next year", adds Intercell's Alexander von Gabain.
"We at Morphochem are excited about teaming up with Biovertis; this combined entity features focused discovery capabilities and the stable financial basis that is necessary to enable the team to drive products, in particular our dual action antibiotic Oxaquin, through clinical development," says Sijmen de Vries.
For further information about the acquisition, Biovertis will host a media and investor conference call on December 1st, 2005, at 02:00pm CET / 01:00pm UK time.
Dial-in details (no passcode required): UK: +353 (0) 1 436 4106 Switzerland: +41 (0) 22 592 7007 USA: +1 33 432 36 201 Austria: +43 (0) 268 2205 6292 Germany: +49 (0) 69 589 990 507
Contact: Media: Dr. Gertraud Unterrainer, Chief Financial Officer Phone: +43 1 798 9303-103 E-Mail: gertraud.unterrainer@biovertis.com Investors: Dr. Erich Felber, Chief Executive Officer Phone: +43 1 798 9303-102 E-Mail: erich.felber@biovertis.com