Plexus Ventures Assists Laboratorios Cinfa in Selling Biosimilar Business to Mundipharma

Oct 11, 2018

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Plexus Ventures is pleased to announce the successful conclusion of a divestiture project for its client, Laboratorios Cinfa, S.A. of Pamplona, Spain. Plexus Ventures advised Cinfa on the sale of its biosimilar business, Cinfa Biotech to a subsidiary of Mundipharma International Limited. Cinfa Biotech’s lead product is Pelmeg®, (pegfilgrastim biosimilar), currently under regulatory review by the European Medicines Authority.

Bob Moran, President of Plexus Ventures, noted: “The sale of Cinfa Biotech represents our third completed transaction in the biosimilar arena. Our biosimilar successes on behalf of clients based in Spain, Poland and Japan demonstrate our geographic breadth and biosimilar industry knowledge. We thoroughly enjoyed working with the highly competent, hard-working and friendly executives at Laboratorios Cinfa and Cinfa Biotech whom we assisted to complete this transaction.”

Jose Luis Pellejero, Chief Financial Officer for Laboratorios Cinfa, commented: “Plexus Ventures’ collaboration has greatly contributed to meet our goal of finding the best company to sell our biosimilar business in order to focus on other areas of our portfolio. We really thank them for their flexibility, effort and commitment. Together we achieved it.”

Details of the transaction can be found below in Mundipharma’s press release issued on October 10, 2018 02:00 AM EDT:

Mundipharma Strengthens Position as a Leader in Biosimilars with Acquisition of Development Company Cinfa Biotech

• Deal includes global rights to pegfilgrastim biosimilar, Pelmeg® with a potential global market worth $4.5bn¹

• Mundipharma acquires 100% ownership from parent company Infarco

• As a leader in biosimilars in Europe, today’s deal deepens Mundipharma’s biosimilars platform beyond commercial excellence to development

• Mundipharma estimates that through its existing partnership with Celltrion – Remsima® and Truxima® have saved healthcare systems approximately €330m²

CAMBRIDGE, England–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Mundipharma global network of independent associated companies has today added development capabilities to its biosimilars platform with the purchase of biosimilars development company Cinfa Biotech.

The announcement sees the Mundipharma network (including NAPP Pharmaceuticals in the UK) gain immediate access to Pelmeg®(B12019), a biosimilar to Neulasta® (pegfilgrastim), which received CHMP recommendation for approval on 20th September 2018.

Alberto Martinez, President and CEO, Mundipharma International Ltd, “Our biosimilars platform is a key component of our growth strategy and today’s acquisition is the obvious next step in us ensuring we remain agile and innovative in the biosimilars space.

“We have successfully demonstrated our commercial excellence in biosimilars by building a market leading platform. Through our partnership with Celltrion on Remsima® and Truxima® we estimate savings for healthcare systems of approximately €330m² from launch to the end of 2017. By acquiring Cinfa Biotech we have now taken the first step in our plans to, not only expand our biosimilars footprint, but to develop future biosimilars which will continue to afford healthcare systems further savings and, in some cases, wider access for patients.”

Pelmeg® (originator Neulasta®³) is a pegylated version of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia that works by stimulating the bone marrow to produce more neutrophils, thereby reducing the incidence of infection.

With a non-US market worth of $603mllion¹ and originator patents already expired, pegfilgrastim biosimilars offer an exciting market opportunity.

Enrique Ordieres, President of Infarco the parent company of Cinfa Group, commented, “After having successfully developed and manufactured our first biosimilar, we strongly believe Mundipharma is best placed to take Pelmeg® forward through the Cinfa Biotech acquisition. They have the pedigree and proven track record of launching biosimilars in Europe, have built strong partnerships with payers, hospital specialists and decision makers and have the deep local understanding of complex tender environments.”

References:
¹ Sales of Neulasta® in 2017: data from Amgen 2017 Fourth-quarter results (Global: $4,534 million. ROW: $603million). ROW sales: Available from: https://www.amgen.com/media/news-releases/2018/02/amgen-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2017-financial-results/
² Figure based on Mundipharma data – Biosimilar savings: Truxima and Remsima net price vs originator list price x units or vials sold. Time periods are from launch, with data based on five markets for Remsima and six markets for Truxima through to year end 2017.
³Neulasta® patient information leaflet. Available from: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/6770/pil

About Plexus Ventures

Plexus Ventures, founded over 30 years ago, is a leading corporate and business development consultancy for the healthcare industry. Plexus assists clients of all sizes and capabilities to achieve their strategic business development objectives, advising on M&A, asset divestments, licensing and partnership arrangements. Plexus’ industry professionals are conveniently located in the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific markets, enabling Plexus to benefit its clients with both local knowledge and global reach.

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