Sanofi sells therapy cells: Aastrom buys products and plants
The Michigan, US-based firm announced the deal this week, explaining that it will gain commercial rights to the cartilage therapies Carticel and MACI and a skin replacement product for burns victims named Epicel.
According to Sanofi filings, the products generated combined revenue of $44m last year.
Through the deal – which is expected to close in the next three weeks - Aastrom will also acquire the former Genzyme manufacturing centres in the US and Denmark at which the three cell-therapy products are made.
Sanofi spokeswoman Sarah Conners told BioPharma-Reporter.com the facility Aastrom is buying in Cambridge, Massachusetts “is a fully-integrated manufacturing site for the development and commercialization of cell-based therapies.
“The production of three cellular therapies for clinical and commercial distribution worldwide occurs at the facility” she continued, adding that “The site provides a wide range of specialties such as engineering, process and technology development, quality control, quality assurance and manufacturing.”
Connors added that: “The manufacturing site in Copenhagen produces the cell therapy product MACI.”
Aastrom CEO Nick Colangelo described the acquisition as a “transformative transaction,” citing the marketed products as a key driver.
He also said the Sanofi R&D and manufacturing sites “provides us with a platform to generate operating income to support the development of our high-potential pipeline products and continued growth through additional strategic transactions.”
Turnaround
This positive outlook is in marked contrast with comments Colangelo made this time last year when, just a few days after his appointment, he announced that Aastrom had halted enrolment in a Phase III trial of a critical limb ischemia therapy.
In subsequent months the US firm worked to reduce costs, sacking nearly half of its 71-strong workforce and focusing on the development of its lead product, ixmyelocel-T, for the treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).
The cutbacks appear to have had the desired effect. According to fiscal 2013 results Aastrom released last month losses fell to $15.6m from $29.5m in the previous financial year, while R&D spending dropped to $15m from $26m.
Manufacturing moves
Aastrom produces its candidate products for trials at its cell manufacturing facility in Ann Arbor using a culturing process that employs single-use cell cassettes provided by technology firm Vention Medical.
In Previous statements Aastrom has said: “The facility supports the current US clinical trials and has sufficient capacity, with minor modifications, to supply our early commercialization requirements.
“We may establish and operate larger commercial-scale cell manufacturing facilities for the US market in the future to accommodate potential market growth.
The firm did not respond when BioPharma-Reporter.com asked how the planned Sanofi acquisition fits with this plan.
