Probitas Pharma buys Alpha Therapeutic's assets in USA, Asia

Probitas Pharma has bought a hemoderivatives production plant from Alpha Therapeutic, part of Mitsubishi Pharma, for 100 million euros ($113.5 million). As part of the deal, the Spanish company will also obtain the right to commercialize Alpha's products in Asia.

The factory, dedicated to plasma fractioning and covering 31,000 square meters, is located in Los Angeles, USA. In a statement, Probitas Pharma said the deal will boost its presence in the US market where it is expanding aggressively. It will also reinforce its business in the fast-growing markets of Asia. Barcelona-based Probitas Pharma hopes to obtain approval to sell intravenous immunoglobulin in the USA by end-2003. The firm already markets hemoderivatives under its Biomat USA subsidiary, and its mainstay business is the production and analysis of blood plasma to make drugs to treat hemophilia and other diseases of the circulatory system.