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Business deals – Acquisitions – Agreements – Coll
aborations T E X T B Y M AL IN O T M ANI Martin Holst Lange, EVP Development, Novo Nordisk B U S IN E S S Flerie and Toleranzia to merge and take Toleranzia private The Board of Directors of the two companies have adopted a plan to join forces through a statutory merger. B I G PHARMA Novo Nordisk gains rights to The United Laboratories’ triple G obesity drug Novo Nordisk and the Chinese United Laboratories International Holdings Limited’s wholly-owned subsidiary, The United Bio-Technology (United Biotechnology), have entered into an exclusive license agreement for UBT251, a triple agonist of the receptors for GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon in early-stage clinical development for the treatment of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other diseases. UNDER THE license agreement, Novo Nordisk will obtain exclusive worldwide rights (excluding Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) to develop, manufacture, and commercialize UBT251. United Biotechnology will retain the rights for UBT251 on the Chinese mainland, and in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. United Biotechnology is eligible to receive an upfront payment of USD 200 million and potential milestone payments of up to USD 1.8 billion from Novo Nordisk, as well as tiered royalties on net sales outside of Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. “The addition of a candidate targeting glucagon, as well as GLP-1 and GIP, will bring in important optionality to our clinical pipeline,” says Martin Holst Lange, EVP for Development, Novo Nordisk. NLS THE MERGER will be implemented by Toleranzia being absorbed by Flerie (“New Flerie”). Following the completion of the merger, Toleranzia’s operations will be assigned to a new subsidiary of Flerie’s wholly owned subsidiary, Flerie Invest (“New Toleranzia”). The merger consideration for Toleranzia’s shares values Toleranzia at approximately SEK 136 million. “Flerie believes that Toleranzia and its development project would have better prospects for success in an unlisted environment. This approach allows us to attract specialist investors who typically do not invest in the public market, while current shareholders in Toleranzia retain a liquid share in Flerie,” says Ted Fjällman, CEO, Flerie, who is expected to be the CEO of New Flerie. “The proposed merger would strengthen the prospects for Toleranzia’s pharmaceutical projects while allowing our shareholders to benefit from the value growth in Flerie’s diverse investment portfolio,” says Charlotte Fribert, CEO, Toleranzia. NLS Charlotte Fribert, CEO, Toleranzia UP TO USD 1 BILLION … … is what AstraZeneca has acquired Belgian EsoBiotec for. This will include an initial payment of USD 425 million on deal closing, and up to USD 575 million in contingent consideration based on development and regulatory milestones. NORDICLIFESCIENCE.ORG | 13