Sanpower has completed its 100% equity delivery of an American biomedical company Dendreon, whose core product is a cellular immunotherapy drug for prostate cancer.

    

   

Yuan Yafei (Third from Left), Chairman of Sanpower, was signing a share purchase agreement with Joseph C. Papa, Chairman &CEO of Valeant.

 

On 29^th June, Sanpower announced the completion of 100% equity delivery of Dendreon, an American biomedical company, for $819 million. As the core product of Dendreon, Provenge is the first FDA-approved cellular immunotherapy drug for prostate cancer. The acquisition tops all the overseas M&A activities conducted by Chinese private businesses this year and Provenge is the only cellular immunotherapy drug ever purchased overseas by a Chinese business. Reported by Zhu Xing fromThe Beijing News.

 

Provenge experienced two acquisitions in two years

 

In January 2017, Sanpower signed a share purchase agreement with Valeant on the 100% acquisition of Dendreon, a company founded in 1992. The R&D of Provenge, the company’s core product and the up-to-date onlytumor drug for treatment approved by the FDA, lasted for 16 years and the drug was marketed in 2010.

 

According to Sanpower, not only the median survival time of Provenge-treated patients can be prolonged by some 4.1 months, but also most patients can survive at least 12 months longer with small side effects (flu-like symptoms, 1-2 days to ease). During the treatment, the quality of life of the patients was significantly improving and other drugs could also be used simultaneously.

 

 “Since Provenge was marketed in 2010, over 20,000prostate cancer patients have been treated with it, through which the safety and clinical efficacy are fully recognized.” said Xu Fang to The Beijing News. Having been engaged in medical industry for over 20 years, Ms. Xu is the leader for the takeover of Dendreon, and when the acquisition is closed, she will be the Chairman of Dendreon.

 

As a world-renowned pharmaceutical company, Valeant went to public in America, featuring a series of mergers and acquisitions of quality assets. In February 2015, it acquired Dendreon, reportedly, for more than $400 million.

 

However, in October 2015, Valeant, facing a debt problem, met a short selling and its shares slumped afterwards.

 

Under such an occasion, said Ms. Xu, Valeant needed to liquidate its assets and withdraw cashes. Since Dendreon was incorporated into Valeant only for a short period, stripping it off was much easier. What’s more, being the only tumor division in Valeant, Dendreon was not a core business and that’s why Valeant planned to sell it.

 

As to large price gap between two acquisitions of Dendreon, Ms. Xu explained that Valeant’s takeover was $495 million. However, Valeant later spent $150 million reorganizing it as well as building a new marketing team.

 

 “On the other hand, what Valenat took over was a company that had gone bankrupt, indicating a big risk. But what Sanpower has acquired is a sound and profitable company.” Ms. Xu further explained.

 

In news released by Sanpower, it said that with the help of Dendreon’s capabilities and extensive experience in R&D, manufacturing, quality control and so on, Sanpowercould be able to develop more immunotherapy projects and become a world-wide leading company in the cutting-edge precision medical care industry in the future.

 

Yang Huaizhen, President of Sanpower, remarked that when the transaction was closed, Sanpower wished to bring Provenge to China and SE Asia markets as soon as possible while it would continue to expand in America and the EU market.

 

Ms. Xu said that the registration work of Provengein China was ongoing.

 

The largest overseas acquisition conducted by Chinese private business this year

 

The $819 million takeover made by Sanpower tops all the overseas M&A activities conducted by the private businesses in China in 2017.

 

Sanpower Vice President Xu Fang said to the reporter of the Beijing News that, “The successful transaction itself proves that it is in compliance with the industrial policies and related regulations of the state, and signifies that China supports overseas acquisitions of advanced innovative products as well.”

 

Ms. Xuexpressed that this was also China’s first acquisitionof an original drug for cellular immunotherapy.

 

Yuan Yafei, Chairman of Sanpower, once said that overseas acquisition could help Sanpower to introduce foreign advanced technologies, service and business models, and management systems to itself, thereforeforgingits own future.

 

For the fact that currently, there were no mature registration review and supervision systems for cellular immunotherapy medicine, Ms. Xu rendered that the transaction made by Sanpower this time could be a benchmark for fueling the development of quality management and supervision systems for cellular immunotherapy medicine in China.

 

Ms. Yang disclosed that they had carried out the technology transfer work of Provenge in China and received positive responses from the relevant competent authority.

 

News link: http://epaper.bjnews.com.cn/html/2017-06/30/content_686814.htm?div=-1