Hikma announces sale of Ben Venue manufacturing

RNS Number : 8852G

Hikma Pharmaceuticals Plc

25 November 2015

 



Hikma announces sale of Ben Venue manufacturing facilities to Xellia Pharmaceuticals  

London, 25 November 2015 - Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC ("Hikma") (LSE: HIK) (NASDAQ Dubai: HIK) (OTC: HKMPY), (rated Ba1 Moody's / BB+ S&P, both stable), the fast growing multinational pharmaceutical group, today announces it has agreed the sale of manufacturing facilities previously owned by Ben Venue Laboratories, Inc ("Ben Venue") based in Bedford, Ohio, to Xellia Pharmaceuticals ("Xellia").

In 2014, Hikma acquired the Ben Venue assets from Boehringer Ingelheim, following its agreement to purchase the assets of Bedford Laboratories.  Under the terms of the agreement announced today, Xellia has acquired substantial parts of the Ben Venue site, including four sterile injectable manufacturing plants. These plants are not currently operational.  Hikma will retain the Quality and Development Centre ("QDC"), an independent building with research and development laboratories, which has been integral to the tech transfer of the Bedford products to Hikma's own manufacturing facilities. Since Hikma acquired the Ben Venue site in September 2014, it has transferred a large number of modern, high quality machines, including lyophlisers and filling lines, to its manufacturing facilities in Portugal, Germany and the US. 

Said Darwazah, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hikma commented: "We are very pleased to see that Xellia plans to restart commercial operations at the Ben Venue site, which will create jobs and further support the Bedford community.  We have successfully transferred equipment from Ben Venue to our different manufacturing sites, and will continue to benefit from the exceptional capabilities and skills of the Quality and Development Centre and the Bedford R&D teams on-site."

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Enquiries

Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC                                                       

Susan Ringdal, VP Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations     [phone]/ [phone]

Zeena Murad, Investor Relations Manager                                           [phone]/ [phone]

FTI Consulting                                                                                  

Ben Atwell/ Matthew Cole                                                                   [phone]

About Hikma

Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC is a fast growing multinational group focused on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad range of both branded and non-branded generic and in-licensed products.  Hikma operates through three businesses: "Injectables", "Branded" and "Generics", based principally in the United States, the Middle East and North Africa ("MENA") and Europe.  In 2014, Hikma achieved revenues of $1,489 million and profit attributable to shareholders of $299 million. 

About Xellia

Xellia Pharmaceuticals is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on providing important anti-infective treatments against serious and often life-threatening infections. With over 100 years of experience Xellia is a leading developer, manufacturer and trusted supplier of fermented and semi-synthetic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and Injectable Finished Dosage Forms (FDFs) to the pharmaceutical industry. The Company has growing sales in more than 70 countries to over 500 customers across the healthcare industry. Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, Xellia has global facilities including operational and manufacturing capabilities in Denmark, USA, Hungary and China, and currently employs over 1,000 people.

Xellia is a leading supplier of vancomycin and colistimethate sodium (CMS) which together combat life-threatening, multi-drug resistant bacterial infections across Gram-positive and Gram-negative species. Xellia is also developing novel antibiotics effective against MDR Gram-negative bacteria in a development project with SINTEF Materials and Chemistry (Trondheim) and the Statens Serum Institut (Copenhagen), supported by a grant from the Research Council of Norway. Since July 2013, Xellia has been wholly owned by Novo A/S, the holding Company of the Novo Group. Further information about Xellia can be found at: www.xellia.com.

 

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