Biotech company Pharming Group NV (“Pharming” or “the Company”) (Euronext: PHARM) (PHARM.AS) provided today an update on the acquisition of DNage BV (“DNage”). On March 24, 2006, Pharming announced that it had reached an agreement in principle with DNage under which Pharming will acquire all shares of DNage.
The completion and signing of the final sale and purchase agreement was expected by the end of May 2006 pending the fulfillment of a number of conditions, including the obtaining of all necessary corporate approvals. During the acquisition process, the Works Council (“Ondernemingsraad”) of Pharming provided a negative advice on the acquisition, citing an incorrect procedure of employee consultation and insufficient motivation for the decision to acquire DNage. It has announced that it will appeal the decision to acquire DNage at the Enterprise Chamber (“Ondernemingskamer”). The eventual implementation of the sale and purchase agreement will be dependent on the outcome of that appeal.
Pharming hopes that the outcome of the appeal will be positive as it believes that a combination of Pharming with DNage will generate important synergies. It will provide Pharming with access to highly innovative products and a technology platform for new markets in the areas of ageing and cancer. The combination of the world-class technology owned and in-licensed by DNage and Pharming’s human protein products will provide Pharming with new opportunities in the area of tissue repair and regeneration. Management of Pharming is convinced that DNage’s business will contribute greatly to the value of Pharming, through the obvious synergies as well as through the identification of new product leads in important markets.
Pharming remains committed to bringing recombinant human C1 inhibitor and human lactoferrin to the market through focused efforts in the shortest time possible. At the same time, the Company will continue to build on its research efforts creating a sustainable portfolio of products and technologies. Pharming expects the acquisition of DNage to trigger additional business development opportunities including new partnerships as well as grants and subsidies. The latter is exemplified by the recent announcement of a corporate partnership between DNage, LodersCroklaan and BG-Medicine, subsidized by the Netherlands Department of Economic Affairs.
Background on DNage BV
DNage is a biopharmaceutical company founded in 2004 as a spin off from the Department of Genetics of the Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam. The Company was funded through an equity investment of an international syndicate of venture capitalists consisting of Life Sciences Partners (NL) and Inventages (CH). The Company’s main scientific founder Prof J. Hoeijmakers is a world-renowned scientist working on DNA repair and genome stability. His team was the first to establish an explicit connection between DNA damage (lack of repair) and the process of aging, a scientific breakthrough. DNage has acquired exclusive access to this technology and now focuses on developing therapies to reduce the effects of aging, leveraging the unique technologies developed by its founders. On April 24, 2006, DNage announced the start of a corporate partnership with LodersCroklaan and BG-Medicine in the field of type II Diabetes. This program is supported with a 1 million Euro grant awarded by the Dutch Department of Economic Affairs. Additional information is available on the DNage website http://www.dnage.nl.
