Company will instead try to enhance value through better operating efficiency.
Enzon Pharmaceuticals cancelled plans to spin off its biotechnology segment. The current economic environment prompted the firm to rethink the separation of this franchise to focus on its specialty pharma business.
“While we continue to believe that the spin-off of the biotechnology business would be a strategic and value-enhancing plan, the current external market conditions have influenced our decision at this time,” comments Jeffrey H. Buchalter, chairman and CEO of Enzon.
In May, Enzon reported that it would spin off the biotech business with $150 million in cash. The new entity would have been centered on using the customized PEGylation technology in collaborations and locked nucleic acid technology in cancer-related R&D. Enzon Pharmaceuticals would have been left with all marketed products, current royalty streams from PEG-related agreements, and a manufacturing plant.
Enzon will now instead keep the biotech business as is and focus on improving its operating efficiency and advancing its R&D portfolio.
