MediGene completes NeuroVir acquisition

German biopharmaceutical company MediGene AG has completed itspreviously-announced acquisition of San Diego, USA-based NeuroVir Therapeutics (Marketletter November 20, 2000). The deal is a stock-for-stock transaction, with just under 997,0000 new MediGene shares being issued to NeuroVir's shareholders, in exchange for all the shares in the latter that the Martinsried-based firm did not already own. MediGene purchased approximately 9% of NeuroVir, which specializes in the development of modified Herpes simplex viruses for use in cancer therapy, previous to its initial public offering in June last year.

Peter Heinrich, MediGene's chief executive, said that the merger brings two product candidates in clinical development and one platform technology to the firm's portfolio and enhances potential peak sales by $500 million. He added that the acquisition "further reduces the risk profile of the company [and] establishes a foothold for MediGene in the USA."

With this acquisition, MediGene has five product candidates in clinical development: Polyphenon E, its polyphenol-based treatment for genital warts (now in Phase III trials), ERGO-1 (Etomoxir for the Recovery of Glucose Oxidation) to treat congestive heart failure (Phase II) and CVLP, a vaccine to treat cervical cancer, which is in Phase I/II.