Nordic Life Science 1
T E X T b y M AL IN O T M ANI B U S IN E S S Novo
zymes and Chr Hansen merge The two companies have entered into an agreement to create a global biosolutions partner through a statutory merger. UNITING AND OPTIMIZING the combined platforms of both companies will bring together approximately 2,000 employees globally. The focus is on R&D, with over 350 million EUR reinvested into R&D annually, representing an estimated 10-11% of combined sales. Uniting the companies creates a global talent pool of 10,000 employees around the world. The combination will be effecB I G PHARMA AstraZeneca to acquire CinCor Pharma CinCor Pharma is a US-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focused on developing novel treatments for resistant and uncontrolled hypertension, as well as chronic kidney disease. THE ACQUISITION WILL bolster AstraZeneca’s cardiorenal pipeline by adding CinCor’s candidate drug, baxdrostat, an aldosterone synthase inhibitor (ASI) for blood pressure lowering in treatment-resistant hypertension. Baxdrostat represents a potentially leading next-generation ASI as it is highly selective for aldosterone synthase and spares the cortisol pathway in humans. The opportunity also brings the potential for combination with Farxiga and complements AstraZeneca’s strategy to provide added benefit across cardiorenal diseases. Combined, the upfront and maximum potential contingent value payments represent a transaction value of approximately 1.8 billion USD and a 206% premium over CinCor’s closing market price on 6 January 2023. tuated through a statutory merger with Novozymes as the continuing company and Chr. Hansen as the dissolving company. The combined company will continue to be sited and headquartered in Denmark, with the exact location to be determined between Hoersholm or Lyngby. Novozymes and Chr. Hansen will jointly develop a name and brand for the combined company. Ester Baiget, the current CEO of Novozymes, will assume leadership of the combined group as CEO. 25 MILLION EUR ... ... has been secured by Anocca from the European Investment Bank (EIB). This agreement is one of the first InvestEU investment in Sweden in life science. Ester Baiget, CEO, Novozymes NORDIC LIFE SCIENCE 9