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Anika buys Italian biotech company
Anika Therapeutics has acquired Fidia Advanced Biopolymers (FAB), a wholly-owned subsidiary of privately held Italian pharmaceutical company, Fidia Farmaceutici.
FAB provides hyaluronic acid-based products in several therapeutic areas including for the regeneration of connective and structural tissues damaged by injuries, aging or degenerative diseases.
Anika also announced that it will develop its own direct U.S. sales capability to capture significantly higher margins from the domestic sales of Monovisc, its single-injection osteoarthritis treatment. Direct commercialization activities will also include the portfolio of FAB orthopedic products once approvals are achieved in the United States.
Under the terms of the sale and purchase agreement, Anika purchased FAB in exchange for $17.1 million in cash and 1,981,192 shares of its common stock.
FAB has approximately 50 employees at its headquarters in Abano Terme, Italy, which includes R&D and cell culture laboratories, as well as commercial and manufacturing operations. FAB's unique, patented technology for modifying hyaluronic acid to produce fibers, films and textile biomaterials is used in a wide variety of medical device applications. FAB also pioneered in Europe the development of tissue engineered products for cartilage regeneration and treatment of burns and diabetic ulcers. FAB's modified hyaluronic acid technology is also commercialized in a range of orthopedic, otolaryngology, and urogynecology products.
"FAB provides Anika with an exciting new growth platform and advances our vision to offer therapeutic products that go beyond pain relief to protect and restore damaged tissue," said Charles H. Sherwood, Anika's president and chief executive officer.
Headquartered in Bedford, Mass., Anika Therapeutics develops, manufactures and commercializes therapeutic products for tissue protection, healing and repair.