Nabi Biopharmaceuticals completes sale of Nabi Biologics to Biotest

US-based Nabi Biopharmaceuticals has completed the sale of its biologics strategic business unit to Biotest Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of German-based Biotest AG, for US$185m (Euro 126m) in cash.

Biotest has acquired or will acquire products including Nabi- HB and other plasma business assets, together with Nabi's state-of-the-art plasma protein production plant and nine FDA-certified plasma collection centers across the US. The acquisition also includes certain of Nabi's Corporate Shared Services group assets, the company's headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida, and other facilities as well as the assumption of certain liabilities.

Nabi will retain, on an interim basis pending Biotest's receipt of certain Florida regulatory approvals and licenses, title to all Nabi-HB inventory and work-in-progress, and regulatory oversight and operational authority for the manufacture, marketing, distribution and sale of Nabi-HB. Upon receipt of such regulatory approvals, these will transfer to Biotest.

"The completion of this transaction marks a significant milestone in our strategic alternatives process," said Dr Leslie Hudson, interim president and ceo of Nabi. "Nabi is now focused on building and realising the significant value of Nabi's remaining assets, including NicVax, our proprietary smoking cessation vaccine for treatment of nicotine addiction and prevention of smoking relapse, StaphVax, and our cash and PhosLo milestone and royalty opportunities."

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals is now headquartered in Rockville, Maryland.

Biotest Pharmaceuticals will be led by the following management team: Dr Rainer Pabst, ceo; Jordan I. Siegel, cfo; and Peter Seith, vice president of project management.

"The team that we have assembled to run Biotest Pharmaceuticals represents leaders from both Biotest AG and Nabi Pharmaceuticals," said Professor Dr Gregor Schulz, chairman of the management board of Biotest AG. "We are confident that, led by this team, Biotest Pharmaceuticals will become a US leader in the immunology biotherapeutic field."

The acquisition places Biotest among the leading plasma producers worldwide and enables it to address the US annual demand of more than 30 tons of immunoglobulins - approximately one-third of all global demand.

"This acquisition allows Biotest Pharmaceuticals to not only tap into the US plasma marketplace, but also to build upon our new foundation of experience," said Dr Pabst, the new ceo. "We are looking forward to building upon this foundation to reach our goals of continued growth and an expanded range of top-quality plasma products."

In addition to Nabi-HB, Biotest Pharmaceuticals is currently working to develop its pipeline of new plasma-based products including IVIG, a polyvalent immunoglobulin in Phase III and Civacir in Phase IIb for the prevention of hepatitis C in liver transplant patients.