Alkermes' one-stop shop
Alkermes Inc. added a complementary piece to its existing injectable sustained release drug delivery portfolio, signing a letter of intent to acquire technology and manufacturing assets of Medisorb Technologies International L.P. for $4 million in cash. The acquisition positions ALKS (Cambridge, Mass.) as a one-stop shop for both protein and small molecule injectable sustained release products.
ALKS's ProLease drug delivery system for larger molecules was acquired from Enzytech Inc. in 1993 for about $20.9 million in ALKS shares. A ProLease formulation of Genentech Inc.'s human growth hormone is about to enter the clinic. ProLease formulations of Intron A interferon alpha for Schering-Plough Corp., and of four undisclosed molecules for Boehringer Mannheim GmbH, are in preclinical development...