Swedish contract drug developer Recipharm has signed a deal with Virginia's Synthonics, investing in the biotech and lending its expertise in the development of new compounds.
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| Recipharm Executive Vice President Carl-Johan Spak |
Under the deal, Recipharm has taken a $2 million stake in Synthonics and plans to buy $2 million more in preferred stock when the company hits certain milestones. The pair have entered into a joint development agreement under which Recipharm will provide its development and manufacturing services in exchange for royalties on Synthonics' pipeline, which revolves around using proprietary technology to improve the delivery of APIs.
Synthonics' business plan is based on discovering, developing or in-licensing novel compounds and using its metal-coordination chemistry to provide better absorption, reduced toxicity and targeted delivery. And Recipharm, a major player in contract development with more than 2,000 employees around the world, figures it can both accelerate Synthonics' proprietary candidates and use the company's technology to improve its own offerings.
The deal "gives us an opportunity to share in the upside of Synthonics' chemistry, which we believe offers an elegant and cost-effective means to create patentable drugs that address difficult absorption and delivery issues," Recipharm Executive Vice President Carl-Johan Spak said in a statement. "We believe that this collaboration will enhance our ability to serve our customers with exciting drug delivery solutions."
Meanwhile, Recipharm has been rapidly expanding since going public in 2014, spending more than $300 million in three buyouts designed to bolster its capacity across Europe.
- read the statement