Anika Therapeutics Acquires Fidia Advanced Biopolymers: A Leading Innovator in Hyaluronic Acid Based Tissue Engineered Products
BEDFORD, Mass., Dec 31, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Anika Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANIK) today announced that it has acquired Fidia Advanced Biopolymers, s.r.l. (“FAB”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of privately held Italian pharmaceutical company, Fidia Farmaceutici S.p.A. FAB provides hyaluronic acid-based (“HA”) products in several therapeutic areas including for the regeneration of connective and structural tissues damaged by injuries, aging or degenerative diseases. The Company also announced that it will develop its own direct U.S. sales capability to capture significantly higher margins from the domestic sales of MONOVISC(TM), its single-injection osteoarthritis treatment. Direct commercialization activities will also include the portfolio of FAB orthopedic products once approvals are achieved in the United States.
Under the terms of the sale and purchase agreement, Anika purchased FAB in exchange for USD $17.1 million in cash and 1,981,192 shares of its common stock. FAB recorded product revenue of approximately USD $11.1 million in the 12 months ended September 30, 2009. Anika anticipates that the acquisition will be accretive to earnings in the second year of combined operations.
FAB has approximately 50 employees at its headquarters in Abano Terme, Italy, which includes R&D and cell culture laboratories, as well as commercial and manufacturing operations. FAB’s unique, patented technology for modifying HA to produce fibers, films and textile biomaterials is used in a wide variety of medical device applications. FAB also pioneered in Europe the development of tissue engineered products for cartilage regeneration and treatment of burns and diabetic ulcers. FAB’s modified HA technology is also commercialized in a range of orthopedic, otolaryngology, and urogynecology products.
“FAB provides Anika with an exciting new growth platform and advances our vision to offer therapeutic products that go beyond pain relief to protect and restore damaged tissue,” said Charles H. Sherwood, Ph.D., Anika’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “FAB’s complementary regenerative technology allows us to expand Anika’s commercial product portfolio and development pipeline with innovative joint health and other therapeutic products. FAB also has a strong research ability that complements Anika’s excellent development and manufacturing resources.”
“FAB’s innovative orthopedic product portfolio will provide us with a critical mass of products to sell into the U.S. market along with MONOVISC upon its approval,” said Sherwood. “We filed the final module of our MONOVISC PMA containing the clinical data on December 24th, and we expect to receive U.S. FDA approval in the second half of 2010. Internationally, we are planning to leverage FAB’s strong distributor partners in Europe and Asia to enhance sales of MONOVISC and Anika’s other products in new and existing international markets.”
“The acquisition of FAB and the decision to build a direct Anika sales capability are two important, mutually reinforcing milestones that we expect to propel Anika to a new stage of growth. We are confident that our integrated team will realize significant upside potential from the combined company, and we look forward to welcoming FAB’s talented employees to Anika,” concluded Sherwood.
