The News

Sofinnova Partners announces the sale of Preglem to Gedeon Richter for a total value of CHF445m ( €337m)

07/10/2010

A successful spin off that Sofinnova Partners seeded and backed since its creation

Paris, France – October 7, 2010. Sofinnova Partners, a Paris-based venture capital firm, today announced that Gedeon Richter, a leading multinational pharmaceutical company listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange, had acquired 100% of the shares of PregLem for a total possible consideration of CHF 445M (€337M), including an immediate upfront cash payment of CHF150 million (€114 million) and milestone payments of up to CHF295 million (€223 million). PregLem was initially established to develop and commercialise assets that were spun off from Ipsen Pharma and in-licensed from HRA Pharma.

PregLem is a Swiss based specialty biopharmaceutical company focusing on women’s reproductive medicine, which was formed in 2006 by Dr Ernest Loumaye, a specialist in female reproductive medicine with more than 15 years’ experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, and Eric Rolin, a finance executive with 25 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry. It has a portfolio of five compounds in clinical and pre-clinical stages of development. Last June, PregLem announced positive Phase III results for its lead product ESMYATM as an effective treatment for uterine fibroids – a condition that affects millions of women worldwide. The company will submit a Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in Q4 2010. For Gedeon Richter, the current transaction will provide a further high added value pipeline to its existing female healthcare portfolio. Over the next four years, Gedeon Richter is committed to investing CHF 100 million in PregLem to register ESMYATM to, commercialise its products, develop sales force capability and progress the clinical development of earlier stage compounds. Sofinnova Partners was the sole seed investor in the company at the time of its formation, and remained the largest shareholder today (with 26% fully diluted of the capital). The company was eventually financed by a syndicate of private European and US investors - which in addition to Sofinnova Partners, included MVM Life Sciences Partners, NeoMed Management, Sofinnova Ventures. “Sofinnova Partners acted as a genuine early stage VC ; its resources and industrial network were key to our development. Sofinnova Partners brought more than just financing and its insight supported the business model we deployed: notably the spin off of assets from Ipsen and the licensing model we developed with HRA Pharma”, said Dr. Ernest Loumaye, CEO and co-founder of PregLem. “PregLem illustrates Sofinnova Partners’ hands-on approach and our capacity to successfully accompany corporate spin offs and great entrepreneurs like Ernest Loumaye from creation to the exit”, indicated Rafaèle Tordjman, Partner at Sofinnova Partners and currently Vice Chairman of the company’s board of directors. Sofinnova Partners’ strategy focuses on backing from the very beginning talented professionals with an entrepreneur’s vision associated to world class science.

About Sofinnova Partners
Sofinnova Partners is an independent venture capital firm based in Paris, France that specializes in investments in early stage companies and corporate spin-offs in the technology and life sciences sectors. From landmark historical investments including Genentech and Biogen to more recent successes such as Vistaprint, Actelion and CoreValve, Sofinnova has a history of discovering and nurturing companies and entrepreneurs. Since 1972, the firm has financed over 460 companies, many of which have gone public or have been acquired, and currently manages over €1 billion in assets.

About PregLem
PregLemis a European speciality biopharmaceutical company, dedicated to the development and commercialization of a new class of drugs for women’s reproductive health conditions. PregLem has an experienced senior management team, with a proven track record in developing, registering and commercializing reproductive health products. Media contact

Anne Rein
STRATEGIES & IMAGE
For SOFINNOVA PARTNERS
Tel: 01 45 88 79 73
anne.rein@strategiesimage.com