Drugmaker Allergan said on Tuesday it would buy LifeCell, a regenerative medicine unit owned by privately held Acelity LP, for $2.9 billion in cash, bringing the number of deals it has made this year to an even dozen.
LifeCell makes regenerative tissue products that are commonly used in breast reconstruction procedures and complex hernia surgeries to provide soft tissue support. The products will support Allergan’s portfolio of medical aesthetics, breast implants and tissue expanders, the company said.
Allergan chief executive Brent Saunders has described the company’s acquisition strategy as being one of “stepping stones.” Allergan’s deal to sell itself last year to Pfizer for $160 billion was dropped due to a change in tax law.
Allergan, best known for its Botox product, said LifeCell’s 2016 sales are expected to be $450 million and grow at a mid-single digit rate. It expects the deal to close in the first half of 2017.
Dublin-based Allergan, which was created through the combination of Actavis and Allergan, earlier this year sold its generics business to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, freeing up cash for deals.Allergan has agreed to 12 deals this year, including the $1.7 billion acquisition of Tobira Therapeutics, maker of an experimental treatment for fatty liver disease, and $639 million acquiring Vitae, maker of an experimental drug to treat psoriasis.
Source: Reuters via Fortune
CureVac and the University of Texas’s MD Anderson Cancer Center have announced a co-development and licensing agreement to develop novel messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based cancer vaccines. The strategic collaboration will focus on the development of differentiated cancer vaccine candidates in selected haematological and solid tumour indications with high unmet medical needs.
FUJIFILM Corporation is planning to invest $1.2 billion to expand the planned FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina, US. This news follows the organisation’s announcement of a $2 billion investment in the facility in March 2021. This additional financial boost totals the investment to over $3.2 billion, FUJIFILM confirmed.
Sanofi’s global restructuring and downsizing is now fully underway, with layoffs stretching to the company’s Belgian offices. Belgian newspaper De Tijd reports that 67 employees have been laid off at a site in Ghent and 32 jobs are on the chopping block at Sanofi’s Belgium HQ in Diegem.
