London, UK, 31 August 2010: BTG plc (LSE: BGC), the specialty pharmaceuticals company, today announces that it has signed an agreement with Nycomed US Inc. concerning the accelerated transition to BTG on 1 October 2010 of marketing rights to CroFab™ (Crotalidae Polyvalent Immune Fab (Ovine)), an antivenom, and DigiFab™ (Digoxin Immune Fab (Ovine)), for treating patients with life-threatening digoxin toxicity or overdose.
Nycomed is currently the exclusive distributor of the products in the US under a contract that ends on 30 September 2010 but provides Nycomed with rights to sell remaining product inventories for up to a further six months.
Under the terms of the new agreement, the companies will cooperate to ensure an orderly transition of the sales, marketing, promotion and distribution functions to BTG and to ensure continued orderly product supply to end users. BTG will gain access to Nycomed’s market data, customers and sales force, and from 1 October 2010 BTG will have exclusive rights to market and sell the products. In return, BTG will pay Nycomed up to $16.6m (~£10.3m), the precise amount depending on the amount of product delivered to and sold by Nycomed before 30 September 2010. BTG anticipates that the expected final payment will be approximately $14.5m (~£9.3m).
As a result of this agreement, BTG anticipates that product revenues for the current financial year will be higher than previously expected, and that the Group’s total reported revenue is anticipated to be £93m-£97m. The increase in revenue is expected to flow directly into gross profit, as full manufacturing costs have already been included in BTG’s expectations.
The payments to be made under this agreement are estimated to result in an exceptional operating expense of around £9m in the current year’s financial results, and the net impact of the agreement is anticipated to be slightly earnings enhancing in the current financial year. The estimated closing cash position for the current financial year is £45m-£50m, in line with our previous expectations.
Louise Makin, BTG’s chief executive officer, commented: “We are very pleased to have reached agreement with Nycomed to ensure continuity of product supply, a smooth and accelerated transition of the marketing rights for CroFab™ and DigiFab™ to BTG and clarity for customers that from 1st October we will be the sole supplier of these life-saving products.”
For further information contact:
BTG Financial Dynamics Andy Burrows, Director of Investor Relations +44 (0)7990 530605 Rolf Soderstrom, Chief Financial Officer +44 (0)20 7575 0000 Ben Atwell +44 (0)20 7831 3113
About BTG
BTG is an international specialty pharmaceuticals company that is developing and commercialising products targeting critical care, cancer, neurological and other disorders. The company is also seeking to acquire new products to develop and market to hospital specialists, and is building a sustainable business financed by revenues from sales of its critical care products and from royalties and milestone payments on partnered products. For further information, visit: www.btgplc.com.
Mo Noonan Senior Manager Financial Communications
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