Sweden’s Recipharm looks to engage customers earlier with $1.8m acquisition

By Zachary Brennan

- Last updated on GMT

Sweden’s Recipharm looks to engage customers earlier with $1.8m acquisition

Related tags Pharmacology

Recipharm has completed the acquisition of Uppsala, Sweden-based CRO OnTarget Chemistry for about $1.8m (SEK 15.1m). 

With the acquisition, Recipharm will broaden its pharmaceutical development capabilities as OnTarget Chemistry specializes in medicinal chemistry, offering synthesis and analytical services. The inclusion of preclinical chemistry services will give Recipharm the possibility to engage much earlier in client projects.

OnTarget Chemistry's synthesis capabilities will also help Recipharm with the GMP development of APIs in Recipharm's Italian subsidiary, Edmond Pharma. Sales in 2015 for OnTarget show more than 60 % of total revenue outside Sweden with sales in Germany, Japan and the UK. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to EPS from 2016, Recipharm said.

Carl-Johan Spak, EVP of Development & Technology at Recipharm, said, "OnTarget Chemistry has a very skilled staff with a high number of PhDs working in a modern laboratory of very high standard. The acquisition is of strategic importance for Recipharm as it will together with the existing development organisation fuel manufacturing sales in the long term​.”

Half of the acquisition was paid in cash and the remaining half was paid through an issue in kind of 45.838 series B shares in Recipharm. Approximately 36% of the B shares in Recipharm the seller receives are subject to a lock-up of two years, while the remaining shares will be distributed by the seller to certain individuals that contributed their shares in OnTarget Chemistry to the seller before the transaction was consummated.

Fredrik Lehmann, CEO of OnTarget Chemistry added: "We believe we can add preclinical competence and capabilities to Recipharm and we also look forward to contributing with a broad range of both local and international customers. This will be a great opportunity for us to continue to grow our business within Recipharm​." 

Related topics Preclinical Research

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