LEXINGTON, Mass. and AMSTERDAM, July 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ: QURE), a leading gene therapy company advancing transformative therapies for patients with severe medical needs, today announced that it has entered into an agreement for the sale of its global manufacturing facility in Lexington, Massachusetts to Genezen, a leading contract development and manufacturing organization specializing in the supply of retroviral vectors, lentiviral vectors, and adeno-associated virus (AAV) technologies.
Genezen agreed to acquire uniQure’s commercial-scale gene-therapy manufacturing facility for total consideration of $25 million, comprised of $12.5 million of newly issued Series C Preferred Stock and a $12.5 million convertible note. In addition, Matt Kapusta, chief executive officer of uniQure, will join the Board of Genezen upon the closing of the transaction, which is expected early in the third quarter of 2024 subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
Under the proposed transaction, Genezen will be responsible for manufacturing global commercial supply of HEMGENIX® for CSL and providing development and manufacturing services to support uniQure’s investigational gene therapies. uniQure and CSL will be entitled to preferred customer status. The majority of uniQure’s employees at the Lexington facility will be offered employment at Genezen to facilitate a seamless transition.
“Today marks a significant step forward in achieving a key strategic goal for uniQure,” stated Matt Kapusta, chief executive officer of uniQure. “We have been focused on meaningfully reducing costs while maintaining our ability to develop and potentially commercialize our gene therapy product candidates. This transaction achieves these objectives by unlocking significant cost savings while maintaining preferential access to world-class gene therapy manufacturing.”
“Additionally, we are continuing to closely review the business to identify additional cost reduction opportunities and expect to announce further progress in the third quarter of 2024,” he added. “We believe a more streamlined uniQure enhances our strategic flexibility for value-creating opportunities and furthers our mission to deliver transformative medicines for patients in need.”
As a result of this transaction, uniQure expects to reduce cash burn by approximately $40 million annually. Upon the closing of the transaction, uniQure anticipates repaying $50 million of outstanding debt, which is expected to yield additional savings in interest expense.
Leerink Partners is serving as financial advisor, and Covington & Burling LLP is serving as legal counsel to uniQure.
About Genezen
Genezen is a contract development and manufacturing organization with a decade’s experience at the heart of the rapid growth in the gene and cell therapy market. Genezen is a leader in the supply of retroviral vectors, lentiviral vectors, and AAV. Led by an extremely experienced team, a science-first approach influences continual investment in scalable, high-yield manufacturing processes and best-in-class technologies. For more information about Genezen, please visit genezen.com.
About uniQure
uniQure’s mission is to reimagine the future of medicine by delivering innovative cures that transform lives. The recent approvals of our gene therapy for hemophilia B – a historic achievement based on more than a decade of research and clinical development – represent a major milestone in the field of genomic medicine and ushers in a new treatment approach for patients living with hemophilia. We are now leveraging our modular and validated technology to advance a pipeline of proprietary gene therapies for the treatment of patients with Huntington’s disease, refractory mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Fabry disease, and other severe diseases. www.uniQure.com
