The Paul Royalty Fund II will purchase Aventis' U.S. rights for Estorra for $115 mil., the private equity firm announced Aug. 9.

"In exchange for Aventis' Estorra royalty rights, Paul Royalty will provide Aventis with fixed and milestone payments totaling up to $115 mil. after U.S. commercial launch of Estorra," the firm said.

Estorra (eszopiclone) is being developed by Sepracor for insomnia.

Sepracor expects FDA approval by mid-December after resubmitting an NDA for Estorra in response to an FDA "approvable letter" (¹ 'The Pink Sheet' June 21, 2004, In Brief).

Aventis is required to divest its interest in Estorra as part of a July 28 Federal Trade Commission consent agreement clearing the company's merger with Sanofi (² Also see "Sanofi-Aventis Merger Clears FTC; Estorra Rights To Be Divested" - Pink Sheet, 2 August, 2004., p. 3).

FTC gave Aventis 90 days to divest its "contractual rights" to Estorra to either Sepracor or another FTC-approved buyer.

"Paul Royalty's acquisition of Estorra royalty rights from Aventis, which has been approved by the FTC, satisfies the final requirement set forth in the FTC consent decree," the fund manager said.

Sanofi has already agreed to divest Arixtra (fondaparinux) and Fraxiparine (nadroparine) for $541 mil. to GlaxoSmithKline. Aventis will sell its interest in Camptosar (irinotecan) back to Pfizer for $620 mil.

The Paul Royalty Fund, an affiliate of Paul Capital Partners, manages $1 bil. in capital and provides royalty and revenue interest-based financing to life science companies.

Guilford financed its $84 mil. acquisition of Aggrastat (tirofiban) under an arrangement with Paul Capital Partners; the company acquired the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor from Merck (³ [A#00650490008], p. 12).

Aventis’ Estorra Rights Acquired By Private Equity Firm In $115 Mil. Deal

More from Archive

More from Pink Sheet