Ferring Pharmaceuticals has expanded its leading position in reproductive health through the acquisition of the USA’s Cytokine PharmaSciences.
The deal includes Cytokine’s Controlled Therapeutics (Scotland) subsidiary (CTS), which develops and manufactures controlled-release drug delivery products and has a strong focus in the area of women’s health. Financial details of the purchase were not disclosed.
Michel Pettigrew, Ferring’s president, said the acquisition “advances our vision to become the global scientific and commercial leader in reproductive health, and perfectly complements our already strong portfolio of obstetrics products”. These including Tractocile (atosiban) and Pabal (carbetocin).
He added that the deal includes the manufacturing assets for dinoprostone, which is used to induce labour and marketed by Forest Laboratories as Cervidil in the USA and Canada, and by Ferring as Propress elsewhere. CTS has “also developed a strong pipeline of women’s healthcare products”, Ferring added, including the misoprostol vaginal insert which will be filed for US approval in 2012.
The privately-owned Swiss firm says there are 130 million babies born globally each year and, depending on the country, labour induction rates range from 15% to 30% of all births. Treatments for “cervical ripening are set to play an increasingly prominent role in the delivery process”, it notes.
In May 2010, Ferring bought the global marketing rights to Lysteda (tranexamic acid) for the treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding from Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals.
