Versicor and Biosearch Italia in merger deal

Californian company Versicor is to merge with Biosearch Italia, of Milan, to create an international biopharmaceutical company to discover, develop, manufacture and commercialise novel antibiotic and antifungal agents for hard-to-treat infections. The merger is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year.

The deal, which is worth around US$260.7m (€267m) will give the combined company a presence in North America and Europe, as well as a pipeline of two Phase III product candidates (anidulafungin and ramoplanin), one Phase II product candidate (dalbavancin), one Phase I product candidate (BI-K0376) and numerous pre-clinical compounds in development. Assuming approval of the merger by the FDA and European regulatory authorities, the new company - which will keep the name Versicor for the time being - plans to commercialise anidulafungin and dalbavancin in North America and Europe.

'This merger is driven by the fact that each company has the same mission of developing antibiotics and antifungals for tough-to-treat infections,' said Dr Claudio Quarta, ceo of Biosearch. 'Our mutual goal and respective regional facilities and expertise will enable us to increase our presence in global markets.'