NEW YORK —Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) has put in an offer to acquire Vectura Group plc for $1.2 billion.
Vectura, a provider of inhaled drug delivery solutions, has 13 inhaled and 11 non-inhaled products marketed by major global pharmaceutical partners, as well as a diverse portfolio of partnerships for drugs in clinical development.
The acquisition will give PMI access to differentiated proprietary technology and pharmaceutical development expertise to deliver a broad range of complex inhaled therapies. It will also add human capital, technology, infrastructure and knowledge of inhale formulation and device design development and analysis to leverage PMI’s existing capabilities in life sciences, product innovation and clinical expertise, the New York-based tobacco company said.
The news comes on the heels of PMI’s announcement of an agreement to acquire Fertin Pharma—a Vejle, Denmark-based developer and manufacturers of pharmaceutical and well-being products based on oral and intra-oral delivery systems.
“PMI’s Beyond Nicotine strategy, announced in February, articulates a clear ambition to leverage our expertise in inhalation and aerosolization into adjacent areas—including respiratory drug delivery and selfcare wellness—with a goal to reach at least $1 billion in net revenues by 2025,” said PMI CEO Jacek Olczak. “The acquisition of Vectura, following the recently announced agreement to acquire Fertin Pharma, will position us to accelerate this journey by expanding our capabilities in innovative inhaled and oral product formulations in order to deliver long-term growth and returns.”
PMI said with Vectura, Chippenham, U.K., the companies can create a fully owned pipeline of products across of broad range of sectors in the prescription drug and over-the-counter categories. PMI’s “Beyond Nicotine” aerosolization technologies will also prove additional predictability, stability and security for Vectura, PMI said.
“We are thrilled by today’s announcement and the prospect that Vectura will be joining the PMI family as an autonomous business unit, forming the backbone of our ‘Beyond Nicotine’ inhaled therapeutic business,” said Jorge Insuasty, PMI’s chief life sciences officer. “The proposed acquisition will significantly accelerate our development efforts. With the addition of Vectura’s expertise in the inhaled therapeutics space, PMI and Vectura will have the opportunity to undertake together the development and eventual commercialization of innovative inhalable drug/device combinations."
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