Phynova moves on Chinese market
Phynova, a developer of pharmaceuticals derived from Chinese botanical drugs, plans to acquire an initial minority shareholding in Botanic Century (Beijing) Co.
Phynova, a developer of pharmaceuticals derived from Chinese botanical drugs, plans to acquire an initial minority shareholding in Botanic Century (Beijing) Co.
Phynova has signed a letter of intent to acquire a 45% shareholding in Botanic Century with a five year option period, commencing two years from completion. The move will increase its holding to a 51% stake. The consideration for the initial holding is £531,000 to be satisfied by the issue of 75,000 new ordinary shares in Phynova and £465,000 in cash.
The proposed transaction is subject to approval by the authorities in the Peoples Republic of China but the deal is anticipated to be completed before the end of the year.
Botanic Century is a pharmaceutical research and development company based in Beijing, China, which develops botanical drugs. So far it has developed nine botanical drugs through the Chinese licensing system as a contract research organisation. It has a pipeline of three new drug candidates for its proprietary development currently going through the Chinese approval process.
The drugs are for the treatment of post-operative intestinal peristalsis, bacterial infections and type II diabetes.
The majority of the funds will be used to expand Botanic's operations and the acquisition will be made through a new division Phynova China, which is based in Hong Kong and will be the vehicle for Phynova's activities in China.
Botanic Century has also agreed to license Phynova's new drug candidate PYN18 for the treatment of hepatitis C virus for the Chinese market. According to the World Health Organisation, approximately 40 million people in China suffer from hepatitis C.