Cipla divests 16.7 per cent stake in Chase Pharma to Allergan

MUMBAI: Drug maker Cipla’s UK arm sold the entire 16.7% stake it held in Chase Pharma, a US-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, to Allergan, famous for its Botox brand, the drug maker said.

Cipla had first picked a 14.6% stake in Chase for $1.5 million investment in 2014, via a syndicated venture, and later bought additional equity earlier this year, taking its total to $5.12 million. In a separate press release, Allergan said it acquired Chase for an upfront payment of $125 million and additional potential regulatory and sales milestone payments related to Chase's lead compound, CPC-201, being developed to treat Alzheimer’s disease and certain backup compounds. Cipla said Allergan agreed to pay up to $875 million based on achieving the milestones to Chase shareholders.

Cipla’s investment was part of $21 million syndicate to finance Phase two clinical trials for the same drug. Other investors in the syndicate were Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners and New Rhein Healthcare LLC.

The original venture funding for Chase was provided by the Brain Trust Accelerator Fund in 2010. “Cipla made a meaningful contribution in advancing an Alzheimer’s drug to an advanced stage of development… We believe that Chase’s pipeline will be successful at Allergan, given their strength as a leading CNS commercial franchise,” said Chandru Chawla, Head of Corporate Strategy and Cipla New Ventures.