Acambis offloads vaccine assets

CAMBRIDGE, U.K.—A mere three years after it acquired Berna Products Corp., Acambis has sold the company to Crucell NV for $16.5 million. Berna sells and distributes Vivotif, an oral typhoid vaccine, in North America under a licensing and distribution agreement it signed with Berna Biotech AG, which was acquired by Crucell earlier this year. The distribution agreement was scheduled to end in 2010.

 

"Berna Products is no longer a strategic asset and its sale today crystallizes $16.5 million of value and cash in the short term," said Acambis CEO Gordon Cameron. "Together with the recently announced $19-million ARILVAX settlement and near-term revenues from the ACAM2000 U.S. government $30-million order, this deal further strengthens our financial position as we drive toward our goal of building a high-value product pipeline."

The sale includes operations in Miami and Canada, employing 15 people, and comes as a competitive product to Vivotif re-enters the market.