Generic drug company Hikma is bolstering its portfolio by acquiring parts of Xellia Pharmaceuticals’ finished dosage form business in the US.
This includes Hikma taking on a manufacturing site as well as sales and marketing resources. It will also absorb an R&D center in Croatia.
London-headquartered Hikma is paying Xellia $135 million and an extra $50 million is up for grabs depending on future regulatory and commercial milestones, according to a Monday release. Copenhagen-based Xellia is owned by Novo Holdings and specializes in antibiotic injectables.
Riad Mishlawi“This acquisition will add significant scale to our US operations and will enhance our US injectable manufacturing capabilities and portfolio by adding complex technologies,” Hikma CEO Riad Mishlawi said in a statement.
Hikma is taking over a facility in Cleveland, OH, and will install new automated tech and equipment, the company said. The site is anticipated to be ready in two to three years.
The Cleveland facility currently develops, produces and distributes lyophilized vials and aseptic infusion bags for injectable products. Infusion bags hold medicines that are injected into patients’ veins.
Barclays analysts view the overall deal as a “sensible” acquisition and are awaiting to see if Hikma will gain more “upside” from the Cleveland facility.
As a part of the deal, Hikma will also gain eight commercial assets and 11 candidates from Xellia’s pipeline. The marketed assets will add $75 million annually to Hikma’s revenue, the company said.
The commercial products include Vanco Ready for sepsis and other skin and bone infections, as well as other bacterial and fungal infection injections. These are currently made by a third-party contractor, but Hikma is planning to move production in-house into the Cleveland site.
Hikma is also taking an R&D site and its team in Zagreb, Croatia, which develops generic products and finished dosage forms, such as premixed, ready-to-use infusion bags.
With Xellia selling off these assets, it will now focus on its API business and a selected number of finished dosage forms. Xellia has another R&D site in Norway, and manufacturing facilities in Hungary, Denmark and China, according to its website.
Even before the Xellia deal, Hikma already had over 750 marketed injectable and generic drug products and owned 29 manufacturing and R&D facilities in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa.