Biogen to hive off hemophilia business into new publicly traded company

US biotech major Biogen (Nasdaq: BIIB) today revealed that it intends to spin off its hemophilia business as an independent, publicly traded company.

The strategic goal of this transaction is to create two focused companies dedicated to driving current and future value in their respective therapeutic areas of expertise. The spin-off, which has been approved by the board of directors, is planned to be completed by the end of 2016 or early 2017.

The possibility of a Biogen breakup has been discussed for some time, and the hemophilia unit could have been worth about $4.2 billion to $4.9 billion in a sale, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Asthika Goonewardene wrote last month. The new company will be anchored by the drugs Eloctate [antihemophilic Factor (recombinant), Fc fusion protein] for hemophilia A and Alprolix (coagulation Factor IX [recombinant]) for hemophilia B, Biogen said, and which last year generated in $320 million and $235 million in sales, respectively.