Forest Laboratories and moksha8 Form Broad Strategic Alliance for Latin America
October 22 2012 - 5:00PM
Business Wire
Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: FRX), an international
pharmaceutical company, and moksha8, a leader in the
commercialization of CNS medicines in Latin America, today
announced that they have entered into a broad strategic alliance
that will provide Forest with a commercial footprint in Latin
America and give moksha8 access to Viibryd® and potentially other
Forest products for the Latin American market.
The alliance includes an exclusive license from Forest to
moksha8 to commercialize Viibryd®, and potentially other Forest
products, in Latin America. In addition, Forest will provide up to
$125 million in financing to moksha8 in several tranches over a
two-year period, conditioned upon moksha8 achieving certain
business goals. At the conclusion of this two-year period, Forest
will have the option to acquire moksha8 in a merger transaction.
The moksha8 shareholders will also have a put option at such time,
provided that moksha8 has achieved certain business objectives. In
connection with the alliance, moksha8 has expanded its license
arrangement with Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: WPI), to
extend moksha8’s rights to commercialize a portfolio of Watson CNS
branded generic products in Brazil and Mexico and has bought out
Watson’s minority equity position in moksha8. Other financial terms
were not disclosed.
David Solomon, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development
and Strategic Planning of Forest Laboratories Inc., said, “We are
pleased to enter into this transaction with moksha8, which provides
Forest access in a risk controlled manner to a high quality
commercial operation in Latin America, one of the largest and
fastest growing pharmaceutical markets in the world. Moksha8 is
uniquely positioned to commercialize novel products such as
Viibryd® in Latin America, and Forest will augment the moksha8
pipeline through our broad global partner network and business
development reach. This alliance will in time contribute important
incremental profits and growth to Forest and is consistent with
Forest’s strategy to improve returns on our product investments
through fiscally responsible international expansion. We are also
pleased with the agreement between moksha8 and Watson, as Watson's
high quality branded generic products are complementary to Viibryd®
and the other novel brands Forest expects to provide to
moksha8.”
Simba Gill, Chief Executive of moksha8, said, “Forest has built
one of the strongest proprietary drug pipelines in the industry and
we are excited to partner with Forest to commercialize these
products in the fast growth markets of Latin America. We are also
very pleased to build on our successful partnership with Watson,
which has one of the strongest branded generics portfolios in the
industry and with whom we have rapidly become a market leader in
the area of branded generic CNS medicines in Brazil.”
Fred Wilkinson, President Global Brands and Biosimilars of
Watson, said, “We are pleased to be able to expand on our
successful partnership with moksha8 in commercializing branded
generic CNS products in Brazil and Mexico. We are also pleased with
the alliance between moksha8 and Forest which will provide moksha8
with novel brands that are complementary to our branded generic CNS
products.”
Today, the Latin America pharmaceutical market is USD $67
billion with a CAGR of over 14% over the last 5 years. Brazil and
Mexico account for two thirds of the Latin America market value.
The CNS market in Latin America is estimated to be approximately
USD $6 billion.
About Viibryd®
Viibryd® is a novel antidepressant for the treatment of major
depressive disorder (MDD). The efficacy of Viibryd® was established
in two 8-week, multi-center, randomized, double -blind,
placebo-controlled studies in adult (18-80 years of age)
outpatients who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) criteria for MDD. The mechanism of action of
Viibryd is not fully understood but is thought to be related to
enhancement of serotonergic activity in the central nervous system
through selective inhibition of serotonin reuptake. Viibryd® is
also a partial agonist of serotonergic 5-HT1a receptors; however,
the net result of this action on serotonergic transmission and its
role in Viibryd® antidepressant effect are unknown. Viibryd® is not
yet approved in Brazil or Mexico and regulatory submission of
Viibryd® in these countries is expected in Forest’s next fiscal
year.
Forest will manufacture and supply Viibryd® to moksha8, under
its license from Merck-Serono, and moksha8 will have exclusive
rights to market, sell and distribute Viibryd® in Latin
America.
About Forest Laboratories
Forest Laboratories' (NYSE: FRX) longstanding global
partnerships and track record developing and marketing
pharmaceutical products in the United States have yielded its
well-established central nervous system and cardiovascular
franchises and innovations in anti-infective, respiratory,
gastrointestinal and pain management medicine. Forest’s pipeline,
the most robust in its history, includes product candidates in all
stages of development across a wide range of therapeutic areas. The
Company is headquartered in New York, NY. To learn more, visit
www.FRX.com.
About moksha8
moksha8 is a significant Latin American pharmaceutical company,
with a core focus on commercializing the highest quality medicines
with best in class operations and strong FCPA compliance. The
company launched its commercial operations in 2008 and currently
deploys a field force of 120 representatives in Brazil and Mexico
promoting primarily CNS products. moksha8 has a broad alliance with
Forest Laboratories throughout Latin America and a partnership with
Watson to commercialize certain Watson branded generic products in
Brazil and Mexico. The company was founded by Simba Gill and TPG
Biotechnology. Major investors include TPG Biotechnology and
Montreux Equity Partners. For additional information on moksha8,
please visit the company’s web site at www.moksha8.com.
Deutsche Bank is acting as financial advisor to moksha8.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release that refer to
non-historical facts are forward-looking statements that reflect
Forest’s, Watson's and moksha8’s current perspective of existing
information as of the date of this release. It is important to note
that Forest, Watson and moksha8’s goals and expectations are not
predictions of actual performance. Actual results may differ
materially from Forest, Watson and moksha8’s current expectations
depending upon a number of factors affecting Forest’s, Watson's and
moksha8’s business. These factors include, among others, the impact
of competitive products and pricing; the timing and success of
product launches; difficulties or delays in manufacturing; the
availability and pricing of third party sourced products and
materials; successful compliance with FDA and other governmental
regulations applicable to Watson and moksha8, their subsidiaries,
and their third party manufacturers' facilities, products and/or
businesses; changes in the laws and regulations, including Medicare
and Medicaid and similar laws in non-U.S. jurisdictions, including
Brazil and Mexico, affecting, among other things, pricing and
reimbursement of pharmaceutical products; and other risks and
uncertainties detailed in Watson's periodic public filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to
Forest and Watson's annual reports on Form 10-K for the year ended
March 31, 2011 and December 31, 2011 and Forest and Watson's
quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2012.
Except as expressly required by law, Forest, Watson and moksha8
disclaim any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking
statements.
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