Switzerland’s biggest pharmacy network, Galenica, wants to split off the specialty pharma company Vifor Pharma. This could be done earlier than expected, thanks to a lucrative Roche deal.
Galenica has made large investments in the pharma business over the recent years.
Vifor Pharma is already a world leader when it comes to iron deficiency treatments. In May this year, Vifor Pharma got the exclusive liscense to commercialize Roche‘s iron deficiency drug Mircera in the US and Puerto Rico. According to Bloomberg, the drug is expected to generate sales of about CHF 1Bn (€950M).
“This is a key step in ensuring that the company will soon be ready for independence” wrote Galenica’s Chairman Etienne Jornod in a mail to Bloomberg. However, further partnerships are seeked to ease Vifor’s entry into a solo run.
In 2014, the companies expected the outline to happen in three to five years. With the last investment in Roche’s treatment, Vifor Pharma may be listed on the exchange seperately sooner than expected.