Danish biotech firm Zealand Pharma A/S has picked Centerview Partners to help advise on potential partnerships as dealmaking by large drugmakers heats up, people familiar with the matter said.
(Bloomberg) — Danish biotech firm Zealand Pharma A/S has picked Centerview Partners to help advise on potential partnerships as dealmaking by large drugmakers heats up, people familiar with the matter said.
Zealand Pharma is working with the investment bank to identify potential partners for a key rare disease treatment targeting short bowel syndrome, as well as for some dasiglucagon-based medications, the people said. The process may end up leading to a full sale of the company, which has previously been studied by large pharmaceutical firms, they said.Â
Shares of Zealand Pharma rose as much as 6.2% in early trading on Thursday. The stock was up 6% at 9:08 a.m. in Copenhagen, giving the company a market value of $1.9 billion.Â
Zealand Pharma has an existing partnership with German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH for an obesity treatment. It has previously said it plans to enter strategic partnership discussions this year around some of its rare disease treatments, obesity medications and other drugs under development.Â
Deliberations are at an early stage and there’s no certainty they will lead to a transaction, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. A representative for the company declined to comment beyond previous statements, while a spokesperson for Centerview didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.Â
Zealand Pharma is developing dasiglucagon-based treatments for diabetic patients as well as to target a rare genetic disorder known as congenital hyperinsulinism. It also has a glepaglutide treatment for short bowel syndrome in extended phase 3 trials, according to a March presentation.Â
Teaming up with larger drugmakers gives biotechnology companies the resources to better market and distribute their products. Health-care dealmaking has remained relatively robust amid the wider decline in global mergers and acquisitions activity, as large pharmaceutical companies seek to replenish their portfolios.Â
In March, Pfizer Inc. agreed to buy cancer-drug maker Seagen Inc. for $43 billion. Amgen Inc. struck a $27.8 billion deal in December for autoimmune disease drugmaker Horizon Therapeutics Plc in a bid to boost sales.
Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biotech firm focused on rare diseases and ophthalmology, is drawing takeover interest from larger drugmakers, Bloomberg News reported in March.Â
–With assistance from Christian Wienberg.
(Updates shares in third paragraph.)
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