Cytomegalovirus product no longer fits into company’s core areas of focus.
MedImmune will sell CytoGam®, an intravenous immune globulin enriched in antibodies against cytomegalovirus (CMV), to ZLB Behring for $50 million.
Under the terms of the agreement, ZLB Behring will make a one-time upfront payment of $50 million to MedImmune, plus equipment and inventory payments, for full worldwide rights to CytoGam. Further, an additional $70 million may be paid to MedImmune by ZLB Behring upon achievement of certain cumulative net sales milestones.
CytoGam is used to prevent CMV disease associated with transplantation of the kidney, lung, liver, pancreas and heart. “CytoGam was the first product commercialized by MedImmune beginning in 1992,” says David M. Mott, MedImmune’s president and CEO. “It has been an important product for transplant patients as well as for the development of our company. However, CytoGam no longer fits into our core areas of focus.
“CytoGam is an excellent fit for ZLB Behring and their portfolio of plasma-derived therapies, and we believe they will do an outstanding job of ensuring that CytoGam continues to meet an important need for organ transplant patients.
“MedImmune intends to redeploy the proceeds from the sale of CytoGam into areas consistent with our strategic focus on the development of novel, proprietary products for infectious diseases, cancer, and inflammatory diseases.”