Novo Nordisk in talks to acquire French device-maker Biocorp for $165M

05 Jun 2023
www.biopharmadive.com
Acquisition
Dive Brief:
Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk on Monday said it is in exclusive talks to buy French medical device company Biocorp.
Novo plans to buy out Biocorp’s main shareholder, Bio Jag, for 35 euros per share, and then make a tender offer for any outstanding shares at the same price, the companies said Monday. The offer would value all of the company at 154 million euros, or about $165 million.
Novo, which is known for its diabetes and obesity drugs, has been collaborating with Biocorp since 2021 on a smart pen cap that tracks information on dose, date and time of drug injections.
Dive Insight:
Novo aims to develop new connected devices, and expects Biocorp will boost its internal efforts, said Marianne Ølholm, the company’s senior vice president of devices and delivery solutions.
Novo will work with Biocorp to invest in new devices and drug delivery solutions for people with chronic diseases, according to the company’s statement.
Some of Biocorp’s connected devices include a smart cap to monitor inhaler use, a smart pen injector and a smart cap for pen injectors. Biocorp received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration for the smart pen cap, called Mallya, last year.
Novo had previously collaborated with Biocorp on developing and commercializing the device for people with diabetes starting in 2021. More recently, the companies have expanded development to other therapy areas.
“Good, but small acquisition for Novo, and a natural development of a good and healthy cooperation initiated in 2021 and expanded since,” said Henrik Hallengreen Laustsen, a senior equity analyst at Jyske Bank in Denmark. He said the purchase will give Novo full ownership of Biocorp’s smart pen technology, similar to how it gained control of Emisphere’s oral drug delivery technology when it bought the New Jersey medtech for $1.8 billion in 2020.
“The technology can help people with diabetes with better and more accurate treatment — we see no reason why Novo should not be able to use the technology in other disease areas where patients also use a pen, such as obesity,” Hallengreen Laustsen said in an email.
Recently, Novo’s drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, which work by stimulating a hormone called GLP-1, have become sought-after weight loss treatments, and the company has had difficulties maintaining supply.
Novo Nordisk’s offer of 35 euros per share is about 20% higher than Biocorp’s closing stock price on June 2.
Biocorp’s board of directors unanimously approved the proposed transaction on June 4. Novo Nordisk expects the block purchase to take place during the third quarter of 2023 and the subsequent offer to take place in September.
Biocorp reported revenue of 11.67 million euros in 2022, largely from milestone payments, CEO Eric Dessertenne said in a March earnings statement.
'
For more details,please visit the original website
The content of the article does not represent any opinions of Synapse and its affiliated companies. If there is any copyright infringement or error, please contact us, and we will deal with it within 24 hours.
Organizations
Indications
Targets
-
Drugs
Chat with Hiro
Get started for free today!
Accelerate Strategic R&D decision making with Synapse, PatSnap’s AI-powered Connected Innovation Intelligence Platform Built for Life Sciences Professionals.
Start your data trial now!
Synapse data is also accessible to external entities via APIs or data packages. Empower better decisions with the latest in pharmaceutical intelligence.