ProStrakan announces ProSkelia divestment

ProStrakan has announced that it has sold ProSkelia, its drug discovery unit, to Galapogos, in order to more closely focus on its speciality pharmaceutical model.

Galapogos, an integrated drug discovery company, acquired ProSkelia for 45 million euros (30.21 million pounds) in total, with ProStrakan receiving 12.5 million euros of Galapogos shares and a number of payments totalling 14.5 million euros as the company reaches specific milestones.

ProStrakan will also keep 75 per cent of the royalties and milestone payments resulting from collaboration agreements signed earlier this year with Amgen and Novartis.

The company reports that the transaction will allow a greater focus on its speciality pharmaceutical products, realise the monetary value of ProSkelia while keeping an interest in some commercialisation and reduce the cash outgoings of the company.

Dr Wilson Totten, chief executive officer of ProStrakan, said that he was “delighted” with the deal and described it as mutually beneficial to both parties.

“Divesting our discovery unit in the structure announced today preserves our interest in future up-side from a number of the programmes and enables us to focus even more of our resources on successfully delivering commercial growth,” he added.

He added that the drug discovery unit had proven its scientific excellence earlier this year with the signing of the Amgen and Novartis collaboration agreements.

Earlier this month, the company announced the divestment of its interests in the self-developed acne treatment Zindaclin to Crawford Healthcare.