Novartis to expand its human vaccines presence in China through
proposed acquisition of a majority s
(Thomson Reuters ONE) - Corporate news announcement processed and transmitted by Hugin AS.The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Tianyuan a privately-held vaccines company providing a competitive product portfolio and pipeline in China, where Novartis has a limited vaccines presence * Tianyuan and Novartis to collaborate on building a vaccines industry leader targeting unmet medical needs in China, the world's third-largest vaccines market * Acquisition of 85% stake in Tianyuan for approximately USD 125 million will require Chinese regulatory and government approvalsBasel, November 4, 2009 - Novartis has reached an agreement toacquire an 85% stake in the Chinese vaccines company ZhejiangTianyuan Bio-Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. as part of a strategicinitiative to build a vaccines industry leader in this country andexpand the Group's limited presence in this fast-growing marketsegment. This proposed acquisition will require government andregulatory approvals in China.Tianyuan is a privately-owned vaccine company offering a range ofmarketed vaccine products in China and R&D projects focused onvarious preventable viral and bacterial diseases. Tianyuan has beendelivering dynamic and profitable growth, having more than doubledits net sales to approximately USD 25 million in 2008 compared to2006."Novartis has a long-standing commitment to improving healthcare inChina. Our future activities with Tianyuan are an important step inour strategy to enhance the prevention of diseases in China withhigh-quality products," said Dr. Daniel Vasella, Chairman and CEO ofNovartis. "The leadership and associates of Tianyuan share withNovartis the same ambition of offering a broad range of vaccines thatcan prevent many potentially deadly diseases and greatly improvequality of life."As part of the collaboration, the two companies will work together toexpand Tianyuan's product portfolio and R&D pipeline through targetedinvestments in vaccines innovation, manufacturing technologies andcommercial networks. This collaboration is also expected tofacilitate the introduction of Novartis vaccines into China, whereNovartis currently has a limited presence with an offering ofvaccines against influenza and rabies."Our mission is 'To build the Great Wall of Health for the people.' Ipersonally look forward to working with Novartis to continue ourmission by bringing more innovative vaccines to China and buildingTianyuan into a true international vaccines company," said Mr. DingXiaohang, who is the founder, Chairman and CEO of Tianyuan and willcontinue to lead this business while holding a minority stake.China is the world's third largest vaccines market, with annualindustry sales of more than USD 1 billion and expectations forsustained double-digit growth in the future given the government'scommitment to improve access to quality healthcare.Transaction termsNovartis has signed a definitive agreement with the shareholders ofZhejiang Tianyuan Bio-Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., to acquire an 85%stake for approximately RMB 850 million (USD 125 million in cash).The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions, includingreceipt of government and regulatory approvals in China.About TianyuanZhejiang Tianyuan Bio-Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., which was founded asa private enterprise by Mr. Ding Xiaohang, entered the Chinesevaccines industry in 1994 with the first vaccine in China againstHemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS) caused by hantaviruses.Tianyuan has since become one of the country's leading privatemanufacturers and distributors of vaccines with approximately 400associates and an R&D/manufacturing site in Hangzhou (near Shanghai).DisclaimerThe foregoing release contains certain forward-looking statementsrelating to the proposed acquisition of Novartis of a majority stakein Zhejiang Tianyuan Bio-Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and to Novartis andTianyuan's respective businesses. Such forward looking statements arenot historical facts and can generally be identified by the use offorward-looking terminology such as "to expand," "pipeline," "tocollaborate," "targeting," "will," "strategic," "commitment,""future," "strategy," "ambition," "potentially," "expected," "lookforward to," "expectations," or by express or implied discussionsregarding potential future regulatory approvals of the proposedacquisition of a majority stake in Tianyuan by Novartis, or regardingthe potential new vaccine products, or regarding potential futurerevenues from any such products, or potential future sales orearnings of the Novartis Group or any of its divisions or ofTianyuan; or by discussions of strategy, plans, expectations orintentions or potential synergies, strategic benefits oropportunities that may result from the proposed acquisition. Youshould not place undue reliance on these statements. Suchforward-looking statements reflect the current plans, expectations,objectives, intentions or views of Novartis with respect to futureevents, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and otherfactors that may cause actual results to be materially different fromany future results, performance or achievements expressed or impliedby such statements. In particular, there can be no guarantee that theproposed acquisition of Tianyuan by Novartis will obtain the requiredgovernment and regulatory approvals in China. Nor can there be anyguarantee that the proposed acquisition will be completed in theexpected form or within the expected time frame or at all. Neithercan there be any guarantee that Novartis will be able to realize anyof the potential synergies, strategic benefits or opportunities as aresult of the proposed acquisition. Nor can there be any guaranteethat any new products will be developed or approved for sale in anymarket. Neither can there be any guarantee that Novartis or Tianyuanwill achieve any particular levels of revenue in the future. Amongother things, the expectations of Novartis could be affected byunexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulationgenerally; unexpected clinical trial results, including unexpectednew clinical data and unexpected additional analysis of existingclinical data; the company's ability to obtain or maintain patent orother proprietary intellectual property protection; competition ingeneral; government, industry and general public pricing pressures;the impact that the foregoing factors could have on the valuesattributed to the Novartis Group's assets and liabilities as recordedin the Group's consolidated balance sheet, and other risks andfactors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file withthe US Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more ofthese risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlyingassumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially fromthose anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Novartis isproviding the information in this press release as of this date anddoes not undertake any obligation to update any forward-lookingstatements contained in this press release as a result of newinformation, future events or otherwise.About NovartisNovartis provides healthcare solutions that address the evolvingneeds of patients and societies. Focused solely on healthcare,Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs:innovative medicines, cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals, preventivevaccines, diagnostic tools and consumer health products. Novartis isthe only company with leading positions in each of these areas. In2008, the Group's continuing operations achieved net sales of USD41.5 billion and net income of USD 8.2 billion. Approximately USD 7.2billion was invested in R&D activities throughout the Group.Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employapproximately 99,000 full-time-equivalent associates and operate inmore than 140 countries around the world. For more information,please visit http://www.novartis.com. # # #Novartis Media RelationsCentral media line : +41 61 324 2200Eric AlthoffNovartis Global Media Relations+41 61 324 7999 (direct)+41 79 593 4202 (mobile)eric.althoff(at)novartis.come-mail: media.relations(at)novartis.comNovartis Investor RelationsCentral phone: +41 61 324 7944Ruth Metzler-Arnold +41 61 324 North America: 9980Pierre-Michel Bringer +41 61 324 Richard Jarvis +1 212 830 1065 2433John Gilardi +41 61 324 Jill Pozarek +1 212 830 3018 2445Thomas Hungerbuehler +41 61 324 Edwin Valeriano +1 212 830 8425 2456Isabella Zinck +41 61 324 7188e-mail: e-mail:investor.relations(at)novartis.com investor.relations(at)novartis.comhttp://hugin.info/134323/R/1352376/327140.pdf --- End of Message ---Novartis International AGPosfach Basel WKN: 904278; ISIN: CH0012005267; Index: SLCI, SMI, SPI, SLIFE;Listed: Main Market in SIX Swiss Exchange, ZLS in BX Berne eXchange;
Datum: 04.11.2009 - 07:00 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
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