Celltech Group, Cistron, Connetics, Lonza Group Ltd. deal
CCH will acquire CIST for $18 million in CCH ADS's, consisting of $8.75 million for CIST's anti-interleukin (IL-1) antibodies to treat inflammatory disorders and $9.25 million for CIST's cash reserves. CIST shareholders may also receive $3.5 million in cash and $3.5 million in CCH stock if Aventis S.A. (AVE; NM:AVE; DAX:AVE, Strasbourg, France) exercises two options granted by CIST in 1998 to acquire exclusive licenses to the IL-1 technology for developing preventive and therapeutic vaccines. AVE will pay CIST $3.5 million in cash if it exercises one option or $7 million if it exercises both.
Separately, CNCT received a $5 million payment from CCH triggered by completion of manufacturing scale-up of CNCT's ConXn recombinant human relaxin, which is in Phase II/III testing to treat scleroderma. Under an agreement with Medeva PLC, which subsequently merged to form CCH, CCH has European marketing rights to ConXn and an option to co-promote the product in the U.S. (see BioCentury, Jan. 18, 1999). ...