elbion AG merges with 4AZA Bioscience NV

elbion AG, a German small-molecule drug discovery and development firm, has merged with Belgium's 4AZA Bioscience NV. The combined company will be called elbion NV and will be headquartered at 4AZA's current site in Leuven, where it will concentrate its corporate functions, business development activities and R&D facilities for immunology. elbion AG's facilities and staff in Radebeul will be retained and continue to drive the largest part of the company's fully-integrated drug discovery and development activity.

According to the two firms, the merger produces a substantial international company with facilities in two of Europe's leading biotechnology clusters - Flanders and Saxony - as well as partnerships with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, like GlaxoSmithKline and Gilead Sciences. The merged company also boasts a blue-chip international investor base, a pipeline with two products in clinical testing and a fully-integrated small-molecule drug discovery and development capability.