UK allergy group Circassia has announced plans to raise £275 million from a share sale to fund its purchase of two asthma-focused companies, Aerocrine and Prosonix, to create “a world-class allergy and asthma specialty pharma business”.
The firm said it to make an all cash offer to acquire Swedish group Aerocrine, which focuses on the development and commercialisation of medical diagnostic products for diagnosing and managing asthma, for a total consideration of up to SEK 1.78 billion (around £139 million).
An aggregate cash consideration of up to £100 million has been offered for UK-based Prosonix, a privately-held specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development of product candidates for the treatment of asthma and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Explaining the move, Circassia’s chief executive Steve Harris said it will “significantly accelerate” the firm strategy to become a self-sustaining specialty biopharma focused on allergy and asthma.
“The combined organisation will give us both the capability and resources to commercialise our enlarged late-stage pipeline of potential new allergy and asthma products, once approved, and thereby generate significant shareholder value,” he noted.
