Biotie, elbion deal
BioTie acquired elbion's elbion GmbH subsidiary for 46.8 million shares valued at €19.2 million ($23.9 million) based on BioTie's close of €0.41 on Oct. 23, the day before the deal was announced. The deal gives BioTie ELB353, an oral small molecule inhibitor of phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE-4) that is in Phase I testing to treat chronic inflammation. BioTie also gets preclinical programs including Buprenorphine Depot, a sustained-release buprenorphine to treat opiate addiction; phosphodiesterase-10 (PDE-10) inhibitors to treat CNS disorders that are partnered with Wyeth (NYSE:WYE, Madison, N.J.); and an HCV program that is partnered with Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD, Foster City Calif.). elbion GmbH CFO Thomas Taapken and CSO Thomas Kronbach will retain their titles at BioTie. elbion N.V. is left with Naltrexone Depot, a sustained-release formulation of naltrexone in Phase III testing for alcohol addiction. The deal is expected to close on Nov. 18.
Certain elbion N.V. shareholders, including Burrill & Co., TVM Capital and AGF Private Equity, will purchase 7.3 million BioTie shares at €0.45 for a total of €3.3 million ($4.1 million). Also, elbion N.V. will provide the subsidiary with €1.8 million ($2.2 million). At Sept. 30, BioTie had €21 million ($30.2 million) in cash and a nine-month operating loss of €3.3 million ($4.7 million). ...