Purchase price of 180 pence per share represents a 33% premium over closing price yesterday.
H. Lundbeck is buying a £10.3 million (about $16.11 million) stake in Proximagen as part of an agreement to develop therapeutics for certain CNS diseases. The firms inked a strategic partnership agreement that they say is aimed at achieving their collective strategic and growth objectives in drug development for CNS diseases.
As part of the deal, a steering committee involving experts from both companies will focus on developing three of Proximagen’s programs. The focus will be on identifying novel therapies for diseases such as epilepsy, pain, and inflammatory disorders. Lundbeck will also receive certain negotiation rights in relation to these programs.
Proximagen will issue 5,738,100 new ordinary 1 pence shares to Lundbeck at a price of 180 pence per new share. The total consideration paid will be £10,328,580 (about $16,160,325.64). The subscription price of 180 pence represents a premium of roughly 33% over the previous day’s closing price of 135 pence.
Proximagen has clinical-stage programs in CNS-mediated obesity, epilepsy, depression, Alzheimer disease, and Parkinson disease. In preclinical testing, the firm is evaluating candidates for a variety of infllammatory conditions like RA, ulcerative colitis, and pain, as well as for the treatment of cancers like glioblastoma multiforme.
Lundbeck has a number of marketed products including the antidepressant Cipralex™, the Alzheimer disease therapy Ebixa®, the Parkinson disease drug Axilect®, along with Serdolect® for the treatment of schizophrenia, Circadin® for insomnia, Xenazine® for Huntington disease-associated chorea, and the oral antiepileptic Sabril®.
The firm’s mid-to-late-stage in-house and partnered pipeline is headed by Clobazam, a GABA enhancer that has been filed for approval as a treatment for Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Phase III-stage products include the alcohol dependence therapy nalmefene and the antidepressant LuAA21004. An intravenous carbamazepine for the treatment of epilepsy is also in Phase III development along with the plasminogen activator desmoteplase for the treatment of stroke and the antipsychotic candidate Zicronapine. The antidepressant Lu AA234530 and Alzheimer disease candidate Lu AE58054 are in Phase II trials.
