Plasma products sold
16 Dec 2004
Bayer is to sell its worldwide plasma products business to NPS BioTherapeutics, a newly formed corporation controlled by affiliates of Cerberus Capital Management of New York and Ampersand Ventures of Wellesley, MA for approximately $590 million.
The sale covers the products, facilities and employees who work for the plasma portion of Bayer HealthCare's Biological Products Division.
The company's recombinant factor VIII business, comprising its Kogenate product line for the treatment of hemophilia A, is not part of the transaction and will remain in Bayer HealthCare's portfolio.
Sales of Bayer's plasma products in the first nine months of 2004 amounted to EUR 481 million. Key products include Polyglobin, Gamimune N and Gamunex for the treatment of immunodeficiency disorders, and Prolastin for the treatment of congenital pulmonary emphysema.
The plasma business unit, headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, employs approximately 1,600 people in the US.
The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2005 and is subject to regulatory approvals.
