Trubion Pharmaceuticals Announces Agreement To Be Acquired By Emergent Biosolutions
SEATTLE, Aug 12, 2010, Trubion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRBN) today announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement with Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE: EBS), in which Emergent has agreed to acquire Trubion. Under the terms of the agreement, each share of Trubion common stock will be converted into the right to receive an upfront payment of $1.365 per share in cash and 0.1641 shares of Emergent BioSolutions common stock. The upfront payment represents a value of $4.55 per share, or approximately $96.8 million, based on Trubion’s total common shares outstanding, the net value of dilutive stock options, and the trading average of Emergent BioSolutions common stock for the five days prior to the signing of the definitive agreement. Trubion Pharmaceuticals stockholders will also receive one Contingent Value Right (CVR) per share, which will entitle the holder to receive cash payments based upon achievement of the following predefined milestones:
Milestone Events |
Applicable Payments |
Initiation of the first Phase 2 clinical study for TRU-016 | $1.75 million |
Release of TRU-016 manufactured for use in clinical studies | $10.0 million |
Initiation of dosing in the first Phase 2 clinical study for a non-CD20 target | $0.75 million |
Initiation of the first Phase 3 clinical study in oncology indication for TRU-016 | $15.0 million |
Initiation of dosing in the first Phase 3 clinical study for the first major indication for CD20 candidate | $6.25 million |
Initiation of dosing in the first Phase 3 clinical study for the second major indication for CD20 candidate | $5.0 million |
The total potential aggregate value of the CVRs is $38.7 million over a 36-month period, post-closing. The combination of the upfront consideration along with the potential value of the CVRs results in total consideration of up to $135.5 million for Trubion stockholders.
Emergent will maintain research facilities in Seattle upon completion of the acquisition, and the location will become a therapeutics-focused product development site for the combined company.
Steven Gillis, Ph.D., executive chairman of the board of directors and acting president of Trubion, stated, “The acquisition of Trubion by Emergent will accelerate the continued development of our leading products and technologies. We believe the combination of Emergent’s strong financial position and expertise in development of biologics with Trubion’s innovative SMIP(TM) and SCORPION(TM) protein therapeutic product candidates and technologies will provide an efficient and effective development path for these promising products and technologies.”
Fuad El-Hibri, chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of Emergent BioSolutions, stated, “This acquisition strengthens Emergent’s biologics capabilities in two key aspects. First, it diversifies our product pipeline beyond infectious diseases into the two high-growth areas of oncology and autoimmunity. And, second, it broadens our monoclonal antibody therapeutic capabilities. Emergent’s stable vaccine franchise, substantial capital resources, and expertise in biologics manufacturing and product development combined with Trubion’s world-class therapeutic platform technologies and clinical-stage development programs should translate into significant value over the near and long term.”
The transaction has been approved by the Board of Directors of both companies and is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of the acquisition by stockholders of Trubion, and the expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.
The acquisition of Trubion is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2010. Wedbush PacGrow Life Sciences is acting as financial advisor, and Bingham McCutchen LLP is acting as legal advisor to Emergent BioSolutions for this transaction. MTS Health Partners L.P. is acting as financial advisor, and Fenwick & West LLP is acting as legal advisor to Trubion.
About Trubion
Trubion is a biopharmaceutical company that is creating a pipeline of novel protein therapeutic product candidates to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and cancer. The Company’s mission is to develop a variety of first-in-class and best-in-class product candidates, customized for optimal safety, efficacy and convenience that it believes may offer improved patient experiences. Trubion’s current product candidates are novel single-chain protein, or SMIP, therapeutics, and are designed using its custom drug assembly technology. Trubion’s product pipeline includes CD20-directed SMIP therapeutics such as SBI-087 for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, developed under the Company’s Pfizer collaboration. Trubion’s product pipeline also includes TRU-016, a novel CD37-targeted therapy for the treatment of B-cell malignancies developed under the Company’s Abbott collaboration. In addition to Trubion’s current clinical stage product pipeline, the Company is also developing its multi-specific SCORPION technology, both for targeting cell-surface molecules as well as simultaneously neutralizing soluble ligands. More information is available in the investors section of Trubion’s website: http://investors.trubion.com/index.cfm.