Actelion obtains option to acquire privately-held Trophos
Actelion Ltd and privately-held Trophos SA announced that they have entered into a binding agreement whereby Actelion has, for EUR 10 million, obtained an exclusive option to acquire privately-held Trophos SA, a clinical stage pharmaceutical company.
Trophos' lead compound olesoxime has completed enrollment into a Phase III study in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), an orphan disease also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. This study is expected to report data by the end of 2011; at this time Actelion may exercise the option for an acquisition price between EUR 125 and 195 million in cash, contingent on different regulatory approvals and other clinical progress of Trophos' pipeline.
Simon Buckingham, President, Global Corporate and Business Development: "Trophos has done an excellent job to enroll more than 500 ALS patients into a well-designed pivotal study. Once study results are available, Actelion is ideally positioned to leverage these achievements with our proven global regulatory and marketing expertise in the area of orphan drugs."
The two companies also agreed on a research collaboration to allow Actelion access to Trophos' proprietary CNS assay technology and compound library. The technology mimics neuronal degeneration processes in the test tube and is used to screen chemical compounds for their ability to block these processes.
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