6th Aug 2013 07:00
6 August 2013
Vectura Group plc
Completion of acquisition of ProFibrix B.V. by The Medicines Company
Potential royalty and milestone payments on Fibrocaps™
Chippenham, UK - 6 August 2013: Vectura Group plc (LSE: VEC) ("Vectura"), confirms that the completion of the acquisition of ProFibrix B.V., by The Medicines Company, will lead to Vectura receiving a one-off payment and potential future royalty and milestone payments.
The announcement yesterday by The Medicines Company, follows an announcement on 4 June 2013 stating its intention to purchase all of the outstanding share capital of ProFibrix B.V. subject to satisfactory review of the Phase III clinical trial results of ProFibrix's lead biologic, Fibrocaps™, a product being studied for treatment of bleeding during surgery and after trauma injury.
In accordance with the terms of a licensing agreement between Vectura and ProFibrix B.V., Vectura will receive a £2m change of control payment and it will also earn a low single digit royalty for sale of Fibrocaps™ in the major territories. As a shareholder of ProFibrix B.V., Vectura will receive a $1.5m milestone related to the successful outcome of the phase III study and Vectura will potentially receive further payments based on certain approval and sales milestones.
Dr Chris Blackwell, Chief Executive of Vectura commented:
"I am pleased to note the completion, by The Medicines Company, of its acquisition of ProFibrix B.V. Fibrocaps® has been developed using Vectura's dry powder technology and formulation expertise, the patents for which were originally acquired as part of Vectura's 2006 acquisition of Innovata plc. Fibrocaps®'s clinical and regulatory progress to date reflects the value of Vectura's extensive intellectual property portfolio and today's announcement underlines our commitment to monetising that value."
Accounting treatment by Vectura
Vectura intends to recognise the £2m change of control receipt as revenue in H1 FY 2013/14. All clinical and commercial milestones, including the $1.5m milestone associated with the successful phase III read-out, relate to Vectura's shareholding in ProFibrix B.V. In accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, these milestones will be recognised as 'other income' below the operating profit/loss line.
About ProFibrix
ProFibrix (www.profibrix.com) was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Leiden, The Netherlands, with a subsidiary in Seattle, WA, USA. The company leverages its expertise in fibrinogen technology to develop and bring to market innovative products for the hemostasis and regenerative medicine markets. Human fibrinogen plays a pivotal role in blood clotting and tissue healing. ProFibrix is led by a team with extensive commercial, clinical and scientific experience in the hemostasis field.
About Fibrocaps
Fibrocaps is a mixture of two essential blood clotting proteins, fibrinogen and thrombin, formulated as a unique dry powder topical product, which is being developed to stop bleeding during or after surgery. Fibrocaps is differentiated from existing liquid fibrin sealants and hemostats: it is ready for immediate use, is stable at room temperature and does not require frozen storage or thawing.
About the FINISH-3 trial
FINISH-3 is a prospective, randomized, Phase 3 trial of Fibrocaps in patients undergoing spinal, liver, vascular and soft tissue surgery. Patients were enrolled in the U.S. and Europe. Top line results of FINISH-3 are positive.
About The Medicines Company
The Medicines Company (www.themedco.com) provides medical solutions to improve health outcomes for patients in acute and intensive care hospitals worldwide. These solutions comprise medicines and knowledge that directly impact the survival and well-being of critically ill patients.
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Enquiries
Vectura Group plc | +44 (0)1249 667700 |
Chris Blackwell, Chief Executive Paul Oliver, Chief Financial Officer | |
Karl Keegan, Corporate Development Director
| |
FTI Consulting | +44 (0)20 7831 3113 |
John Dineen / Ben Atwell |
About Vectura
Vectura Group plc and its subsidiaries ("Vectura" or the "Group") is a product development company that focuses on the development of pharmaceutical therapies for the treatment of airway-related diseases. This growing market includes asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and is estimated to be worth in excess of $30 billion worldwide.
Vectura has seven products marketed by its partners and a portfolio of drugs in clinical development, a number of which have been licensed to major pharmaceutical companies. Vectura has development collaborations and licence agreements with several pharmaceutical companies, including Novartis, Sandoz (the generics arm of Novartis), Baxter, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Tianjin King York Group Company Limited (KingYork).
Vectura seeks to develop certain programmes itself where this will optimise value. Vectura's formulation and inhalation technologies are available to other pharmaceutical companies on an out-licensing basis where this complements Vectura's business strategy. For further information, please visit Vectura's website at www.vectura.com.
Forward-looking statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the discovery, development and commercialisation of products. Various risks may cause Vectura's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including: adverse results in clinical development programmes; failure to obtain patent protection for inventions; commercial limitations imposed by patents owned or controlled by third parties; dependence upon strategic alliance partners to develop and commercialise products and services; difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory approvals to market products and services resulting from development efforts; the requirement for substantial funding to conduct research and development and to expand commercialisation activities; and product initiatives by competitors. As a result of these factors, prospective investors are cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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