BioCentury
ARTICLE | Company News

Proximagen, Upsher-Smith deal

June 18, 2012 7:00 AM UTC

Specialty pharma Upsher-Smith will acquire the 84% of Proximagen it does not already own for 320p per share in cash. The price, which values Proximagen at about £223 million ($345.7 million), is a 16% premium to Proximagen's close of 275p on June 12, before the deal was announced. Proximagen shareholders will also receive a contingent value right worth up to 192p per share, or £133.8 million ($207.4 million) in total, based on revenue milestones for Proximagen's PRX167700 and PRX00933. PRX167700, a vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1; SSAO) antagonist, is in Phase I testing for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriasis. Upsher-Smith plans to find a partner for the product after a Phase II trial, which is slated to start next year. Upsher-Smith also plans to find a partner for PRX00933, a serotonin (5-HT2C) receptor agonist that completed a Phase II trial for obesity. Altacor Ltd. (Cambridge, U.K.) has an option to license rights to PRX00933 for ophthalmic indications under a deal signed last year (see BioCentury, Dec. 5, 2011).

Upsher-Smith said the deal will provide an early stage R&D capability, particularly in CNS diseases. Proximagen's board unanimously approved the deal, which is subject to shareholder approval at a July 20 meeting. ...