Biotie to acquire neurology and immunology focused pharma company elbion

Drug development company Biotie Therapies, based in Turku, Finland, has entered into an agreement to acquire speciality pharmaceutical company elbion to create a leading European company in the field of discovery and development of therapeutics for central nervous system and inflammatory diseases. elbion will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Biotie.

After the merger, Biotie will have a broad range of innovative drug candidates at different stages of clinical and pre-clinical development. Of the new additions to the pipeline, ELB353 is an orally available selective anti-inflammatory drug that has already completed phase I clinical testing. Buprenorphine Depot is a next generation proprietary formulation of the most widely used drug for the treatment of opioid dependence.

Combined with Biotie's existing clinical stage development projects, including Nalmefene, which is in phase III clinical development for alcohol addiction, and its VAP-1 fully human monoclonal antibody drug for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, the combined product pipeline represents a compelling range of new drugs for diseases with high unmet medical need, the company says.

Biotie's current ceo, Timo Veromaa, will continue as the ceo of the new entity. Elbion's ceo, Bernd Kastler will join the board of Biotie, along with current elbion board members Ann Hanham and Christoph Schroeder. The company will operate out of its two locations in Turku, Finland, and Radebeul, Germany.

"Bringing together the pharmaceutical development capabilities and clinical pipelines of both companies will create a European leader in the CNS and inflammation market," said Juha Jouhki, chairman of Biotie.