Neopharm Group, owned by the Fuhrer family, acquired Fresenius Biotech, a subsidiary of Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA. Fresenius Biotech is focused on research, development, manufacturing and marketing of innovative therapies for rare, life-threatening diseases. The transaction was closed on June 28th.
The transaction follows a long lasting and successful partnership between Fresenius entities (Fresenius Medical Care, Fresenius Kabi and Fresenius Biotech) and Neopharm Group for sale of Fresenius products in Israel.
David Fuhrer, Chairman and CEO of Neopharm Group, said: “The acquisition of Fresenius Biotech is a cornerstone in our strategic objective to transform Neopharm Group into a multinational fully-integrated bio-pharmaceutical company. Fresenius Biotech represents a unique fit to our growth strategy thanks to its two proprietary antibody therapies in the market, 150 dedicated personnel, sales in more than 60 countries and decades of experience successfully researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing of breakthrough therapies for rare diseases”.
“Our objective is to establish Fresenius Biotech as an independent, rapidly growing innovative company that brings hope to patients suffering from rare, life-threatening diseases with unmet medical needs across the world. This will be accomplished via sustainable development and worldwide marketing efforts of existing products, together with synergetic acquisitions and licensing to support geographical and pipeline expansion” Added Fuhrer.
In addition to Neopharm Group, the Fuhrer Family owns Orphan Technologies Ltd., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of a portfolio of innovative therapies for rare diseases which currently have no available treatment.
About Orphan/ Rare Drug Market
The orphan drug market has significant growth potential. According to a recent Report, sales in this market will experience a compound annual growth rate of 7.4 percent between 2012 and 2018, nearly double that of the prescription drug market, excluding generics. The report based on EvaluatePharma® data found that the worldwide orphan drug market is set to reach $127 billion by 2018, doubling that of the overall prescription drug market.
Orphan drugs that have been filed for regulatory review or are in Phase III trials provided a 1.7 times greater return of investment than non-orphan drugs. Moreover, Phase III development costs for orphan drugs are half of those of non-orphan drugs, even though orphan drug development time does not appear to be any shorter.
The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) currently estimates 30 million Americans suffer from 7,000 rare diseases. Prior to the Orphan Drug Act of 1983, legislation that financially incentivized the development of orphan drugs, only 38 orphan drugs were approved. Since then, 425 indication designations covering 347 drugs have been approved.
