Novo Nordisk in Talks to Take Majority Stake in Biocorp
Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk is in exclusive talks to take a controlling stake in Biocorp, a French company specializing in developing and producing delivery systems and medical devices, for about €154 million.
Novo Nordisk is negotiating with Biocorp’s main shareholder Bio Jag for the purchase of its entire stake, representing 45.3% of its share capital and 62.2% of its theoretical voting rights.
Certain minority shareholders, including Nyenburgh, Greenstock and Vatel Capital, representing 19% of the share capital and 13.07% of theoretical voting rights, have committed to transferring shares to Novo Nordisk once it has completed its purchase of Bio Jag’s stake.
Since 2021, Novo Nordisk and Biocorp have been collaborating on developing and commercializing Mallya, a Bluetooth-enabled smart add-on device for the former’s FlexTouch pen used by people with diabetes. The partners expanded their collaboration in 2022 to develop versions of the Mallya device for other therapeutic areas.
“Novo Nordisk has strong and established core capabilities within developing, scaling, and large-scale manufacturing of innovative injection devices for insulin and other medicines, and we are looking to increase agility to enable faster innovation and development of novel connected devices,” said Marianne Ølholm, senior vice president, devices and delivery solutions at Novo Nordisk.
Biocorp’s board is unanimously in favor of the proposed deal. The company is headquartered in Issoire and has approximately 80 employees.
Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist
