Aresus takes over Veregen® business including API stock and intends to invest in expanding Veregen® into indications and markets
Planegg (pta/08.04.2019/16:25)
- Aresus takes over Veregen® business including API stock and intends to invest in expanding Veregen® into indications and markets
- Sale of non-core product Veregen® completes Medigene’s transformation into a pure immunotherapy company
Medigene AG (FSE: MDG1, Prime Standard) sells its remaining rights to the dermatological drug Veregen® and its complete stock of the corresponding active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) to the pharmaceutical company Aresus Pharma GmbH (“Aresus”), Munich, Germany. In the course of the sale, all existing relevant contracts with distribution partners and external service providers will be transferred from Medigene to Aresus. Medigene had sold the US rights to the drug at the end of 2017 to the US company Fougera Pharmaceuticals Inc. With this sale of its last product from its “non-core business”, Medigene AG completes the transformation into a pure immunotherapy company.
Prof. Dolores Schendel, Chief Executive Officer and CSO of Medigene AG, comments: “Since Medigene’s refocusing on cellular immunotherapy, the skin drug Veregen® no longer fits into our strategic position. We are very pleased that following the sale of US rights, we will now be able to hand over the remaining rights to this product to a company lead by dermatology product and clinical trial specialists. This will now allow us to focus fully on the advancement of our immuno-oncological cell therapies.”
Dr. Francisco Harrison, Director of Aresus Pharma GmbH: “We are excited to built-up Aresus as a dynamic dermatology company focusing on the further commercialization and clinical research of Veregen®. This product has various potentials to be explored and we intend to invest in expanding Veregen® into further indications and markets.”
Medigene will receive up to approximately EUR 7.75 million from Aresus for the remaining Veregen® rights and all existing API stock. Therefrom, Medigene receives EUR 300.000 upfront and the balance within the next ten years as annual revenue-based earn-out payments from 2021 onwards. These expected payments are recognized as receivables and discounted in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and due to the measurement method of the receivable at the date of the transaction. Therefore, Medigene’s EBITDA will be affected by a non-cash effective loss between EUR 4 and 5 Mio. In the future, this non-cash effective loss will be compensated by corresponding interest income as the payment period becomes continuously shorter. Medigene will update its financial guidance with respect to revenue and EBITDA with issuing its quarterly statement. The closing of the transaction including the transfer of rights is planned for mid-April 2019.
Veregen® is an ointment for the local treatment of external genital and perianal warts (Condylomata acuminata).
About Aresus Pharma: Aresus Pharma GmbH is a new company, that will focus on the further global commercialization and clinical development of Veregen®. The company founders Mr. Sven Schimansky-Wabra and Dr. Francisco Harrison are an experienced team with a sound background in dermatology and clinical research who have an additional company portfolio for the development and commercialization of other semi-solid products as well as a company that specializes in regulatory affairs services.
More information at: http://aresus.de
About the Aresus founders:
Dr Francisco Harrison is an MD, who built a global CRO company over a span of 25 years. Up to 2012, Harrison Clinical Research Group, today operating under Synteract, covered all clinical phases and employed over 500 people in 16 countries. Later, Harrison established a new group of service companies for the Life Science community under the HCSTH holding: Idea Regulatory in the regulatory area, Rephine for quality assurance and Hureka Resources providing healthcare investment advice and management. The new venture Aresus Pharma will be devoted to prescription dermatological products of natural origin.
More information at: http://idearegulatory.com, http://rephine.com, http://hurekaresources.com
Sven Schimansky-Wabra has been working in the pharmaceutical sector since 2004, starting his career at Schering, later Intendis Dermatologie and Bayer. In 2012, he left Bayer to set up Skin Care Pharma. Skin Care developed Skinatan®, the generic version of Advantan®, and brought it successfully through the approval studies. Furthermore, Sven Schimansky-Wabra is also involved in the company Degode-Dermago Development where he had developed Beloren®, a generic version of Skinoren®.
More information at: http://skincarepharma.de, http://Degode.eu
Medigene AG (FSE: MDG1, ISIN DE000A1X3W00, Prime Standard, SDAX) is a publicly listed biotechnology company headquartered in Martinsried near Munich, Germany. The company is developing highly innovative immunotherapies to target various forms and stages of cancer. Medigene concentrates on the development of personalized T cell-based therapies with the focus on T cell receptor-modified T cells (TCR-Ts) and has projects currently in preclinical and clinical development.
For more information, please visit http://medigene.com
This press release contains forward-looking statements representing the opinion of Medigene as of the date of this release. The actual results achieved by Medigene may differ significantly from the forward-looking statements made herein. Medigene is not bound to update any of these forward-looking statements. Medigene® is a registered trademark of Medigene AG. This trademark may be owned or licensed in select locations only.
Contacts
Medigene AG
Julia Hofmann, Dr. Robert Mayer
Tel.: +49 - 89 - 20 00 33 - 33 01
email: investor@medigene.com
Aresus Pharma GmbH
Email: info@aresus.de
