TiGenix to sell Dutch manufacturing facility to PharmaCell
Facility will continue to manufacture cell therapy cartilage regeneration treatment ChondroCelect for TiGenix
TiGenix, a European cell therapy company, is to sell its state-of-the-art Dutch production facility to Maastricht-based PharmaCell for €5.75m.
PharmaCell, a European contract manufacturing organisation (CRO) active in the area of cell therapy and regenerative medicine, is to acquire the shares of TiGenix's wholly owned subsidiary, TiGenix BV, which holds the Dutch manufacturing facility.
Under the terms of the agreement, TiGenix will receive an upfront payment of €3.5m on completion and a final payment of €750,000 after three years.
ChondroCelect, TiGenix's cell therapy treatment for cartilage regeneration in the knee, will continue to be manufactured at the facility under a long-term manufacturing agreement.
The agreement with PharmaCell reduces our organisational complexity
TiGenix will also benefit from tax relief of €1.5m during the first three years, the largest proportion of which will fall in the first year.
In 2012, the manufacturing facility, in Sittard Geleen, the Netherlands, passed a cGMP inspection by the Dutch authorities, and obtained approval from the European Medicines Agency for the production of ChondroCelect.
'The agreement with PharmaCell reduces our organisational complexity and eliminates an important part of our fixed costs while keeping intact the continuity of our product supply,' said Eduardo Bravo, CEO of TiGenix.
Alexander Vos, CEO of PharmaCell, added: 'The new partnership with TiGenix is a further step forward to strengthen our business in support of the development of the cell therapy industry in Europe.'