BioCentury
ARTICLE | Strategy

Monetizing a slice at a time

June 23, 2008 7:00 AM UTC

One way to get a quicker return on investment, especially in an environment where the IPO market is closed, is to salami slice a company’s assets to monetize the ripest ones first. Thus, it would not be surprising to find other VCs copying the deal structure that Actimis Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH put together last week covering the biotech’s lead compound, AP768.

In a structured buyout tied to the development of AP768, Boehringer will take an undisclosed equity stake in Actimis and can acquire an increasing share of the company triggered by undisclosed milestones. If the compound enters Phase III testing, Boehringer would own 100% of the company for a total deal price of $515 million...