Agrees to Sell Pharmaceuticals Business to International Chemical
Investors Group
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Genzyme
Corporation (Nasdaq: GENZ) today announced that it has completed the
sale of its diagnostic products business to Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.
for $265 million in cash.
Sekisui purchased substantially all of the assets of the business,
including diagnostic product lines and technologies. Genzyme’s
approximately 575 employees in the business were offered similar
positions with Sekisui, which plans to maintain operations in each of
the business’s current locations. In connection with the sale, Sekisui
also entered into a supply agreement to provide Genzyme with certain
enzymes needed for the production of Cerezyme® (imiglucerase
for injection).
Genzyme also announced today that it has entered into a purchase
agreement under which an affiliate of International Chemical Investors
Group (ICIG) will acquire Genzyme’s pharmaceutical intermediates
business.
Under the terms of the agreement, ICIG will purchase substantially all
of the pharmaceutical intermediates business, excluding the drug
delivery technologies portion of the business. ICIG has agreed to offer
employment to the unit’s approximately 120 employees upon closing, and
plans to maintain operations at its primary location, a manufacturing
facility in Liestal, Switzerland. The acquired pharmaceutical
intermediates business will be renamed Corden Pharma Switzerland LLC and
will operate as part of ICIG’s pharmaceutical business within the Corden
Pharma platform.
The companies’ goal is to close the transaction during the first quarter
of 2011. Financial terms are not material to Genzyme and were not
disclosed.
As part of the agreement, ICIG will enter into a five-year supply
contract to provide Genzyme with materials needed for the production of
eliglustat tartrate, an investigational treatment for Gaucher disease
Type 1 that is currently in phase 3 clinical trials. ICIG will also
supply materials needed for the manufacture of other treatments in
earlier stages of development, including neo-GAA, currently in
preclinical development as a potential next-generation Pompe disease
therapy.
Genzyme Pharmaceuticals develops and manufactures chemically synthesized
pharmaceutical materials and technologies for the global pharmaceutical
industry and focuses on lipids, peptides, carbohydrates,
oligonucleotides and custom small molecules.
International Chemical Investors Group is a privately owned industrial
holding company focusing on mid-sized chemicals and pharmaceutical
businesses. Since inception in 2004, ICIG has acquired 15 businesses,
all of which have origins in major global chemical or pharmaceutical
corporations and are independently managed. ICIG companies currently
employ more than 3,000 people and operate 15 manufacturing facilities in
Europe and the United States. Corden Pharma group companies offer
contract development and contract manufacturing for advanced
pharmaceutical intermediates, APIs and drug product formulations with
more than 1,500 individuals supporting their customers with specialized
technologies in all international markets.
Genzyme was advised on this transaction by Young & Partners, a chemicals
and life sciences investment banking firm headquartered in New York.
The terms achieved with both Sekisui and ICIG meet the three
foundational goals Genzyme established for divestitures: (1) to
recognize the value of employees with appropriate treatment as part of
the transaction, (2) to create a future for the businesses in which
customers continue to be served well, and (3) to maximize value for
Genzyme shareholders.
These divestitures are part of Genzyme’s ongoing effort to sharpen its
focus on its key businesses. Genzyme also completed the sale of its
genetic testing business in December.
About Genzyme
One of the world's leading biotechnology companies, Genzyme is dedicated
to making a major positive impact on the lives of people with serious
diseases. Since 1981, the company has grown from a small start-up to a
diversified enterprise with approximately 10,000 employees in locations
spanning the globe.
With many established products and services helping patients in 100
countries, Genzyme is a leader in the effort to develop and apply the
most advanced technologies in the life sciences. The company's products
and services are focused on rare inherited disorders, kidney disease,
orthopaedics, cancer, transplant, and immune disease. Genzyme's
commitment to innovation continues today with a substantial development
program focused on these fields, as well as cardiovascular disease,
neurodegenerative diseases, and other areas of unmet medical need.
Genzyme’s press releases and other company information are available at www.genzyme.com
and by calling Genzyme’s investor information line at 1-800-905-4369
within the United States or 1-678-999-4572 outside the United States.
Important Information
Genzyme has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a
Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 relating to the
tender offer by Sanofi-Aventis. Genzyme shareholders are advised to read
the company's Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9
because it contains important information. Shareholders may obtain a
free copy of the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule
14D-9, as well as any other documents filed by Genzyme in connection
with the tender offer, free of charge at the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov.
In addition, investors can obtain free copies of these documents from
Genzyme by directing a request to Genzyme at 500 Kendall Street,
Cambridge, MA 02142, Attention: Shareholder Relations Department, or by
calling 617-252-7500 and asking for the Shareholder Relations Department.
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding
Genzyme’s business plans, including the statements regarding the
completion and timing of the sale of its pharmaceutical business, the
expected benefits of the sale of its pharmaceutical and diagnostics
businesses, its plans to divest or partner other businesses, including
its cell therapy and regenerative medicine business, and the expected
timing of these transactions. These statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those projected in these forward-looking statements. These risks and
uncertainties include, among others, the possibility that suitable
purchasers or partners willing to meet Genzyme’s terms for the planned
transactions will not be found, that the completion of any planned
transactions will not take place or will not take place within the
anticipated timeframes, and the risks and uncertainties described in
Genzyme's SEC reports filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
including the factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in
Genzyme's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September
30, 2010. Genzyme cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the
forward-looking statements contained in this press release. These
statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and Genzyme
undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements.
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