NEW YORK and WINNERSH, England, April 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Paul Capital Healthcare and Vernalis plc (LSE: VER) today announced that they have signed a financing agreement relating to frovatriptan, Vernalis' product for the treatment of migraine. Under the agreement, Vernalis will receive approximately euro 18.4 million in cash from Paul Capital Healthcare and, in return, Paul Capital Healthcare will receive approximately 90 per cent of Menarini's payments to Vernalis under their exclusive license and supply agreement for the commercialization of frovatriptan in Europe and certain other territories. Vernalis will continue to supply Menarini with frovatriptan active pharmaceutical ingredient.
Frovatriptan is currently approved for the acute treatment of migraine in Europe, the United States, Canada and seven Central American countries.
"Earlier this year, Vernalis restructured its operations to focus on its innovative discovery programs and to advance its promising pipeline of development stage products to the point at which they can be partnered. This transaction with Paul Capital Healthcare secures significant, non-dilutive funds for Vernalis, giving us the platform to rebuild new shareholder value in the medium term," said Tony Weir, CFO, Vernalis.
Dr. Ken Macleod, a partner at Paul Capital Healthcare, said: "Migraine affects about 10 percent of people and leads to billions of dollars in lost productivity each year. After extensively evaluating both the clinical and commercial data for frovatriptan, we believe this drug is positioned to capture a growing share of the market for migraine therapies. Growth capital is the hallmark of the companies and products in which Paul Capital Healthcare invests, and provides a compelling rationale for adding our investment in Vernalis and frovatriptan to our portfolio of investments."
About Paul Capital Partners and Paul Capital Healthcare
Through its funds, Paul Capital Healthcare is one of the largest dedicated healthcare investors globally, with more than $1.4 billion in equity capital commitments and debt facilities under management. Combined, the Paul Capital Healthcare funds have invested more than $925 million in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device sectors. These investments are focused on commercial stage companies and products, and consist of investments in the form of royalties, revenue interests, debt and equity. Additional information on Paul Capital Healthcare can be found at www.paulcapitalhealthcare.com. Paul Capital Partners manages nearly $5 billion in equity capital commitments for its three investment platforms, which include Paul Capital Healthcare, Private Equity Secondaries and Top Tier Fund-of-Funds. The firm has offices in New York, San Francisco, Paris, London, Hong Kong, and Sao Paolo.
About Vernalis
Vernalis is a specialty bio-pharmaceutical company focused on products marketed to specialist neurologists. The company has two marketed products, Frova(R) and Apokyn(R), and a development pipeline focused on neurology and central nervous system disorders. The company has six products in clinical development and collaborations with leading, global pharmaceutical companies including Novartis, Biogen Idec, Endo, Menarini and Chiesi:
SOURCE Paul Capital Healthcare
