M&A Deal Summary

HitGen Acquires Vernalis

On October 12, 2020, HitGen acquired life science company Vernalis from Ligand Pharmaceuticals for 25M USD

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is HitGen’s 1st transaction in the Life Science sector.
  • This is HitGen’s largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is HitGen’s 1st transaction in the United Kingdom.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2020-10-12
Target Vernalis
Sector Life Science
Buyer(s) HitGen
Sellers(s) Ligand Pharmaceuticals
Deal Type Divestiture
Deal Value 25M USD

Target

Vernalis

Winnersh, United Kingdom
Vernalis Plc is a commercial stage pharmaceutical company with three marketed products; Tuzistra® XR in the US prescription cough cold market, Moxatag®, a once-a-day formulation of the antibiotic amoxicillin, also for the US prescription market, and frovatriptan an acute treatment for migraine. Vernalis Plc was founded in 1988 and is based in Winnersh, United Kingdom.

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Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

HitGen

Chengdu, China
Category Company
Founded 2012
Sector Life Science
Employees452
Revenue 371M CNY (2023)
DESCRIPTION

HitGen is a biotech company for early-stage drug discovery research, centered on DNA-encoded chemical libraries (DELs). HitGen’s DELs include encoded syntheses for hundreds of billions of novel, diverse, drug-like small molecule and macrocycle compounds. These compounds are members of DELs synthesized from many hundreds of distinct chemical scaffolds, designed and assembled with tractable chemistry based on proven results for identifying drug-like leads against biological targets from known and novel classes. HitGen is working with multiple pharmaceutical and biotech companies, foundations, and research institutes in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia to discover and develop novel therapeutics of the future. HitGen was founded in 2012 and is based in Chengdu, China.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 1 of 1
Sector (Life Science) 1 of 1
Type (Divestiture) 1 of 1
Country (United Kingdom) 1 of 1
Year (2020) 1 of 1
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 1

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Jupiter, California, United States
Category Company
Founded 1987
Sector Life Science
Employees58
Revenue 131M USD (2023)
DESCRIPTION

Ligand Pharmaceuticals is a pharmaceutical company, develops products for men's and women's hormone-related diseases, osteoporosis, metabolic disorders, and cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases. Ligand Pharmaceuticals was founded in 1987 and is based in Jupiter, Florida.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 1 of 1
Sector (Life Science) 1 of 1
Type (Divestiture) 1 of 1
Country (United Kingdom) 1 of 1
Year (2020) 1 of 1
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 1
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2020-09-10 Taurus Biosciences

San Diego, California, United States

Taurus Biosciences LLC is a biotechnology company that discovers and develops novel cow antibodies. Cow antibodies have the longest CDR3s of any species, with unique genetic and structural diversity that can enable binding to challenging antigens. Taurus Biosciences is based in San Diego, California.

Buy $5M
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2023-09-27 Novan

Durham, North Carolina, United States

Novan is a specialty dermatology company focused on researching, developing, and marketing innovative therapeutic products for skin diseases. Novan was founded in 2006 and is based in Durham, North Carolina.

Buy $12M
Mergr

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