Wragge & Co’s Life Sciences team has completed two international deals in one week. In the first, the team advised the shareholders of Italian biopharmaceutical company Anabasis on the company’s acquisition by Dompé for an undisclosed sum. In the second, it advised Netherlands and Belgium-based biopharmaceutical company arGEN-X on its cross-border alliance with Ireland-headquartered Shire Pharmaceuticals.
Head of life sciences Patrick Duxbury advised on both deals. Corporate partner Kevin Jones and intellectual property associate Jordanna Popli also advised Anabasis, while partner Dr Luke Kempton supported on the deal for arGEN-X. Wragge & Co worked closely with partner Giovanni Sagramoso at Italian law firm Annunziata e Associati and Francesco Sinigaglia, CEO at Anabasis, as well as arGEN-X CEO Tim Van Hauwermeiren and senior director, business development, Dr Debbie Allen.
Patrick Duxbury said: “Both of these deals will help enable the parties concerned to bring new treatments to patients worldwide. Our strong relationships with both Anabasis and arGEN-X meant we had a detailed understanding of their objectives. This, combined with our sector-focused life sciences expertise and experience working on international transactions, meant we could help them reach the right commercial outcomes.”
Under the first deal, Dompé becomes the sole shareholder of Anabasis, acquiring the remaining 51% of its share capital, following its acquisition of a 49% stake in the company last year. Dompé will make upfront and subsequent milestone payments related to the development and commercialisation of Nerve Growth Factor, a drug developed by Anabasis to treat various diseases affecting the anterior and posterior parts of the eye.
Their alliance will see arGEN-X and Shire create novel therapeutic antibodies against targets identified by Shire. arGEN-X will receive an upfront technology access fee, research funding and preclinical success payments. Gaining the right to develop and commercialise the products on an exclusive basis, Shire will pay fees, milestones and royalties on product sales.
Anabasis is a private Milan-based biopharmaceutical company which develops innovative therapies for the eye. The company advanced its ophthalmic formulation, Nerve Growth Factor, to preclinical and clinical stages to treat eye diseases including neurotrophic keratitis, retinitis pigmentosa and glaucoma. Dompé is an Italy-based biopharmaceutical company with a turnover of €470 million in 2011.
arGEN-X is a preclinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of human antibodies using its cutting-edge SIMPLE Antibody™ technology. Shire is a specialist biopharmaceutical company based in 29 countries worldwide. Its products are marketed in more than 50 countries globally. US in-house counsel represented Shire.
Wragge & Co’s Life Sciences team comprises full-service expertise in IP, corporate, antitrust, regulatory and dispute resolution matters. With experience of global patent infringement actions, European regulatory compliance, M&A transactions and cross-border licence and collaboration agreements, its clients include AstraZeneca, Astex Pharmaceuticals, Chroma Therapeutics and MedImmune.
Highlights include advising ProStrakan Group plc on a cross-border licensing and distribution agreement with international pharmaceutical company Aptalis Pharma Inc. The deal represented Wragge & Co’s first major instruction from ProStrakan.
