Hikma completes purchase of assets of Bedford Laboratories

Hikma Pharmaceuticals, a multinational pharmaceutical group headquartered in Amman, Jordan, has completed its US$300m acquisition of assets of the US generic injectables business, Bedford Laboratories, from Ben Venue Laboratories, a member of the Boehringer Ingelheim Group.

As announced in May, the total price will be satisfied through an upfront cash payment of $225m and contingent cash payments of up to $75m, subject to the achievement of performance-related milestones over a period of five years.

Hikma is acquiring Bedford's product portfolio, intellectual property rights, contracts for products marketed under licence, raw material inventories, a strong R&D and business development pipeline and a number of employees across key business functions.

'The combination of these assets with Hikma's existing global injectables platform will significantly strengthen Hikma's position as a leading generic injectables company in the US,' the company said.

Hikma also has an exclusivity arrangement with the Boehringer Ingelheim Group to potentially acquire substantially all of the assets of the Ben Venue manufacturing facility in Bedford, Ohio. Due diligence is ongoing and any acquisition will be subject to customary approvals in the US and the UK.

Said Darwazah, Chairman and Chief Executive of Hikma, commented: 'Adding a large portfolio of high value, niche and differentiated products will strengthen our market position and Bedford's deep pipeline and impressive R&D capabilities will support our future growth strategy. We believe that this transaction will deliver significant future value.'