Nycomed confirms Chinese acquisition, buying majority stake in Guangdon Techpool Bio-Pharma for around $210 million

Confirming its previously heralded ambitions in China, privately-owned Swiss drugmaker Nycomed this morning said that it has acquired a majority - 51.34% - stake in Guangdong Techpool Bio-Pharma, a fast-growing Chinese bio-pharmaceutical company based in Guangdong (The Pharma Letter October 4).

Although detailed financial terms were not being officially disclosed, Guido Oelkers, executive vice president, commercial operations at Nycomed, in an interview with TPL this morning, said that it amounted to around $210 million, with the shares were bought from coming Starr International Finance (28%) and from Techpool’s management (23%). Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group, a leading Chinese pharmaceutical conglomerate, holds 40.8% of the shares of Techpool and has previously been the majority shareholder.

Techpool, founded in 1993, specializes in the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of biologic drugs derived from natural sources. Techpool has developed and launched a number of innovative protein drugs, including ulinastatin, a broad-acting trypsin inhibitor, which is a leading compound in the treatment of sepsis and multiple organ dysfunctions. Kallikrein (tissue and plasma kallikrein), a serine protease, is used as a neuroprotective agent in the treatment of stroke