Nordic Life Science 1
Business deals – Acquisitions – Agreements – Coll
aborations T E X T BY M AL IN O T M ANI Kasim Kutay, CEO, Novo Holdings J O IN IN G F OR C E S Arxx Therapeutics merges with Oxitope Pharma The two companies will together create Calluna Pharma Inc. B U S I NES S D E AL NOVO HOLDINGS TO ACQUIRE CATALENT The all-cash transaction values Catalent at USD 16.5 billion on an enterprise value basis. NOVO HOLDINGS, a holding and investment company that is responsible for managing the assets and wealth of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, will acquire all outstanding shares of CDMO Catalent for USD 63.50 per share in cash. Of Catalent’s more than 50 global sites, Novo Holdings intends to sell three Catalent fill-finish sites and related assets acquired in the merger to Novo Nordisk, in which Novo Holdings has a controlling interest, shortly after the closing of the merger. These three sites are located in Anagni, Italy, Bloomington, Indiana, USA, and Brussels, Belgium. The three sites employ more than 3,000 people and all have ongoing collaborations with Novo Nordisk. Under the terms of the agreement, Novo Nordisk will acquire the three manufacturing sites for an upfront payment of USD 11 billion. Following the closing of the merger, shares of Catalent will no longer trade on the New York Stock Exchange and Catalent will become a private company. NLS THE MERGER FOLLOWED a completed Series A round of EUR 75 million, led by the European investor Forbion, and included existing Arxx investors Sarsia, p53 and Investinor. The funding will last until late 2026, and will support the company’s pipeline in fibrotic and inflammatory diseases. It will bring the company’s lead candidate, CAL101, to Phase IIa, and three more pipeline assets to the clinic. “This financing round is one of the largest for an unlisted, early stage Norwegian biotech company. It is not just impressive by Arxx in a challenging capital market, but a milestone for Norwegian biotech,” says Sveinung Hole, Managing Partner, Sarsia, and Arxx Therapeutics' Chairman. The new company will combine expertise in the field of innate immunity, based on damage-associated molecular patterns, with a pipeline of selective antibodies that target inflammatory and fibrotic indications, including several firstin-class clinical candidates. NLS SEK 4 MILLION … … has been raised by Abera Bioscience in a directed share issue. The share issue is connected to the company’s decision to develop a nasal vaccine candidate for inf luenza, based on recent progress with its mucosal vaccine platform. Sveinung Hole, Chairman, Arxx Therapeutics NORDICLIFESCIENCE.ORG | 9 PHOTO MELANIE BURFORD