Enzon Pharmaceuticals is looking at selling its specialty pharmaceuticals business as one of several possible options in a strategic move for the biotech company.
Also on the board is the possibility of the sale of one or more of its marketed products Oncaspar, DepoCyt, Abelcet and Adagen, as well as the company’s Indianapolis-based manufacturing facility.
The move follows the company shake-up and review advised by investor Carl Icahn and the announced spin-off of its biotechnology business into two independent companies.
“We are committed to delivering value to our shareholders in the most efficient manner possible,” Enzon chairman, president and chief executive Jeffrey Buchalter said.
“During our efforts to spin-off our biotechnology business, it became clear that we should also explore attractive opportunities for Enzon’s other businesses. Our decision to explore alternatives for our specialty pharmaceuticals business is an outgrowth of that thinking and has the potential to allow Enzon to focus exclusively on our novel biotechnology business as an alternative to our previously announced spin-off.”
According to a statement by the company, “Enzon has received confidential, non-binding, preliminary indications of interest for the purchase of all or a portion of the specialty pharmaceutical business, which are subject to various conditions”.
Enzon was unavailable for comment.
The announcement saw share prices fluctuate throughout the day yesterday. At one point shares jumped 6% to $9.30. The company closed last night at $8.84.
Just last week the New Jersey-based company released its second quarter financial results. While the company reported a net loss of $1.7 million, this was better on the previous year’s quarter of $2 million.
The company put the strong performance down to a “well-executed business plan”.
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia treatment Oncaspar saw a 36% increase in revenue in the second quarter compared to the same quarter the year before.
The company uses a PEGylation technology platform for its drugs, which aims to reduce dosing frequency and toxicity.
Enzon’s other drugs include: DepoCyt, an injectable chemotherapeutic agent for lymphomatous meningitis; Abelcet, used to treat immuno-compromised patients with invasive fungal infections; and Adagen, a PEGylated bovine adenosine deaminase enzyme to treat immunodeficiency disease caused by a deficiency of ADA.
