Alkermes Sells Gainesville GMP Facility to Recro

Alkermes plc has entered a definitive agreement to sell its manufacturing facility in Gainesville, GA, along with global rights and royalty revenue associated with Meloxicam IV/IM, to Recro Pharma for an initial cash payment of $50 million, development and commercialization milestones of as much as $120 million and royalties on sales of Meloxicam IV/IM. The transaction, subject to customary terms and conditions, is expected to close in 2Q15.
 
Assets inlcuded in the transaction are: the Gainesville facility; rights to RITALIN LA, FOCALIN XR, VERELAN, ZOHYDRO ER, and BIDIL; and the late-stage, parenteral formulation of Meloxicam IV/IM, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug ready for Phase III development for the management of moderate-to-severe acute pain, as well as related technology.
 
“We are streamlining Alkermes’ manufacturing operations for our commercial products and late-stage pipeline into our two GMP facilities in Athlone, Ireland, and Wilmington, OH,” said James Frates, chief financial officer of Alkermes. “With this transaction, we are capturing value from non-core assets, as we continue to execute on our strategy and focus on the key driver of our future growth – our late-stage pipeline of innovative medicines for central nervous system diseases.”