Ipsen Acquires Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Assets for up to US$1 Billion

Ipsen (Euronext: IPN; ADR: IPSEY) announced on January 9 that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire global oncology assets from Merrimack Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: MACK), including its key marketed product ONIVYDE® (irinotecan liposome injection) for the treatment of patients with metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas after disease progression following gemcitabine-based therapy. Under the terms of the agreement, Ipsen will gain exclusive commercialization rights for the current and potential future ONIVYDE indications in the U.S., as well as the current licensing agreements with Shire for commercialization rights ex-U.S. and PharmaEngine for Taiwan. The transaction also includes Merrimack’s commercial and manufacturing infrastructure, and generic doxorubicin HCl liposome injection.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ipsen will pay US$575 million cash at closing plus more than US$450 million upon the approval of potential additional indications for ONIVYDE in the U.S. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2017.

The cross-border team representing Ipsen was led by corporate partners Alain Decombe and Tony Chan, and included tax partner Joshua Milgrim, intellectual property partner Thomas Rayski, employee benefits partner David Jones, corporate partners Abbi Cohen, real estate special counsel Francois Quintard-Morenas, and corporate associates Matthew Rothman, Gino Insana and Stephanie Haas.

The full press release is available here.

Read the press release in French (PDF): "Dechert conseille Ipsen dans le cadre d’un accord conclu avec Merrimack pour un montant qui pourrait atteindre un milliard de dollars."

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