Norgine B.V. to divest its canadian assets acquired through Merus Labs International Inc. to Searchlight Pharma

01 October 2018

NORGINE B.V. TO DIVEST ITS CANADIAN ASSETS ACQUIRED THROUGH MERUS LABS INTERNATIONAL INC. TO SEARCHLIGHT PHARMA

 

 

  • Norgine acquired Merus Labs International Inc. in July 2017 and will retain all assets outside Canada
  • Searchlight Pharma takes ownership of and assumes distribution of Enablex® and Vancocin® in Canada effective immediately
  • Norgine’s Canadian assets generated approximately €3.4 million (CAD $5.1 million) in sales in 2017

 

AMSTERDAM and MONTREAL – Monday 1 October 2018. 08 :00 AM EST / 13 :00 BST / 14 :00 CET . Norgine B.V. (“Norgine”) and Searchlight Pharma Inc. (“Searchlight”) are pleased to announce the closing of a transaction whereby Searchlight will acquire the Canadian assets of Norgine’s subsidiary Merus Labs International Inc. (“Merus”).  As a result of the transaction, Searchlight will take ownership of and assume the distribution and promotion of Enablex® and Vancocin® in Canada effective immediately.  Norgine will retain all assets in markets outside Canada. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

 

According to IQVIA CDH data, the Merus business in Canada generated €3.4 million (CAD $5.1 million) in sales during the 12 month period ending December 2017.  Merus’ Canadian product portfolio consists of Enablex® (darifenacin) which is an anti-muscarinic prescription drug indicated for the treatment of overactive bladder and Vancocin® (vancomycin) which is a prescription antibiotic indicated for the treatment of various infections.  

 

Peter Stein, CEO of Norgine said: “The divestment of Norgine’s Canadian assets, acquired as part of the Merus acquisition, ensures that patients in the region will continue to benefit from Enablex® and Vancocin®. This will enable Norgine to drive our European strategy to deliver profitable growth and create a dynamic and sustainable business in the long term. Norgine will use the proceeds of this transaction to acquire further specialist products for sale through our European infrastructure.”

 

“The acquisition of Enablex® and Vancocin® is further evidence of the success of our industry-leading business development activities,” said Mark Nawacki, President & CEO of Searchlight Pharma.  “The opportunity to acquire the Canadian Merus business represented a unique chance to strategically build both commercial scale and our product offering.  Enablex®, in particular, fits well with our growing interest and presence in the specialty urology and urogynaecology markets in Canada, and will complement our existing promotional activities in support of Bulkamid® for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence.  With Enablex® and Bulkamid® in our portfolio we can now offer a synergistic offering of prescription solutions that address the spectrum of urinary incontinence issues affecting Canadian patients.”

 

Notes to editors

 

About Enablex®

Enablex® (darifenacin) is indicated for the treatment of overactive bladder. Overactive bladder is used to describe a collection of urinary symptoms composed of urgency, with or without urge incontinence, usually with frequency and nocturia, in the absence of proven infection or other obvious pathology.  Enablex® belongs to a class of medicines called antimuscarinic medicines, which reduces abnormal bladder contractions, and is formulated as a once-a-day extended release tablet for oral use containing 7.5 mg or 15 mg of darifenacin.

About Vancocin®

Vancocin® (vancomycin) is indicated for the treatment of infections caused by susceptible strains of staphylococcal enterocolitis, and antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis produced by Clostridium difficile. Vancomycin is in a class of medications called glycopeptide antibiotics, and is formulated as gelatin capsules containing 125 mg or 250 mg vancomycin.

About Norgine

Norgine is a leading European specialist pharmaceutical company with a direct commercial presence in all major European markets. In 2017, Norgine’s total net product sales were EUR 345 million, up 17 per cent.

Norgine employs over 1,000 people across its commercial, development and manufacturing operations and manages all aspects of product development, production, marketing, sale and supply.

Norgine specialises in gastroenterology, hepatology, cancer and supportive care.

Norgine is headquartered in the Netherlands. Norgine owns a R&D site in Hengoed, Wales and two manufacturing sites in Hengoed, Wales and Dreux, France.

For more information, please visit www.norgine.com.

In 2012, Norgine established a complementary business Norgine Ventures, supporting innovative healthcare companies through the provision of debt-like financing in Europe and the US. For more information, please visit www.norgineventures.com.

NORGINE and the sail logo are trademarks of the Norgine group of companies.

 

About Searchlight Pharma

 

Searchlight Pharma Inc., headquartered in Montreal, aspires to become a leading Canadian-based specialty healthcare company through best-in class execution of the search, acquisition, commercialization, and focused development of innovative and unique specialty healthcare products that improve life-long human health and wellness. With a core focus on women’s health, urology, and pediatrics, our team is committed to improving people’s lives by bringing the right products to market. Follow us, learn more about what we do, and get to know our product portfolio at www.searchlightpharma.com. 

 

Information for media representatives only: 

 

Isabelle Jouin

Corporate Communications, Norgine

T: +44 (0)1895 453643

 

 

Mark Nawacki, CPA, CA
President & CEO Searchlight Pharma Inc.
Phone: 514-613-1513
info@searchlightpharma.com  

 

 

For other queries:

 

Christopher Bath

CFO, Norgine

T: +44(0)1895 453723

 

Norgine
Cookie Policy

Last update: 1 August 2023

What are cookies?

Cookies are small data files that websites download to a user’s computer, phone or tablet. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies. They help website providers, for example, to recognise a user that has visited a website previously. Further details on the cookies used on this Website and their purposes are set out below.

  • Helping you navigate the Website in the most easy way possible
  • Assisting in registering for our events, login and your ability to provide feedback
  • Analysing site usage (how many users visited a specific page for example)
  • Analysing the use of our products, services or applications
  • Assisting with our promotional and marketing efforts (including behavioural advertising)
  • Offering content of third parties (such as social media content)

Detailed information about each cookie can be found in the appropriate cookie category section of the banner as well as in the section below.

 

Cookie Category Description

STRICTLY NECESSARY COOKIES

The strictly necessary cookies help make a website usable by enabling basic functions like page navigation and access to secure areas of the website. These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You may be able to decline these cookies through your browser, but necessary parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

 

Detailed list of Strictly Necessary Cookies

 

FUNCTIONAL COOKIES

These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. They may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.

 

Detailed list of Functional Cookies

 

PERFORMANCE COOKIES

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site.

 

Detailed list of Performance Cookies

 

MARKETING COOKIES

These cookies are used to track our visitors’ browsing habits. They can be used to build up a profile of search and/or browsing history for every visitor. Identifiable or unique data is collected to show relevant/personalized marketing content to each user. The information that uniquely identifies users’ browsers and internet devices is used to display targeted advertising and/or share this data with third parties for the same purpose.

 

Detailed list of Marketing Cookies

 

 

Refusing cookies

You do not have to accept cookies, but without accepting them you may experience reduced Site functionality. You can manage your preferences regarding cookies and other tracking technologies and revoke your consent in the banner. You can withdraw your consent at any time. If you would like more information about deleting, disabling and blocking cookies, please visit the website: https://knowcookies.com and check the “manage cookies” and “webmasters guide” sections.

 

Updating our Cookie Policy

There is a possibility that we will update our cookie policy on this website in accordance with legal and technical requirements, therefore we recommend that you read this policy occasionally so that you are adequately informed about how and for what we use cookies.

 

Contact

If you have any questions about this Cookie Policy or the collection, processing and disclosure of your personal data and your data protection rights, please see our Privacy Policy.