RLS acquires Genemedix plc, UK through subscription

Mumbai, Feb 7 (UNI) Reliance Life Sciences (RLS) has acquired GeneMedix plc, a UK-based biotechnology company with London and Singapore Stock Exchange listings.

The acquisition is by way of subscription, by Reliance Life Sciences, to 1,168 million additional equity shares of GeneMedix at 1.25 pence/share amounting to a value of GBP 14.6 million, a company release here today said.

This represents a shareholding of 74 per cent of the enlarged equity of Genemedix for Reliance Life Sciences.

The acquisition deal also involves a five year warrant option for Reliance Life Sciences for a further 1,404 million shares at 1.25 pence/share to enable infusion of an additional GBP 17.5 million, which would take the shareholding of Reliance Life Sciences in GeneMedix to 86 per cent, it said.

Shareholders of GeneMedix approved the acquisition at an EGM of the Company held on January 12, 2007, at its headquarters at New Market, UK, the release added. This is the first-ever, overseas acquisition of a listed biopharmaceutical company by an Indian company.

For Reliance Life Sciences, the acquisition provides an opportunity to enter the European biopharmaceutical market by leveraging its wide portfolio of therapeutic proteins under development with a complementary product portfolio of GeneMedix as well as with the manufacturing facility of GeneMedix for production of clinical trial lots and initial market entry requirements.

The mammalian cell culture manufacturing facility of Genemedix, located at Tullamore in Ireland, was recently awarded a Good Manufacturing Practice accreditation by the Irish Medicine Board.

It recently entered the Indian market with five plasma protein products and has several other products under development in the categories of specialty plasma proteins, biosimilars, novel proteins, monoclonal antibodies and siRNA molecules.

The Mukesh Ambani Group controlled company operates a pilot-scale biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Mumbai to manufacture plasma proteins and recombinant proteins. Reliance Life Sciences is building three commercial scale facilities at its Navi Mumbai campus to manufacture recombinant proteins, as well as plasma proteins.

These facilities would be operational in the year 2007.

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