PARSIPPANY, N.J. (AP) — Drug developer The Medicines Co. plans to buy ProFibrix BV in a deal that will hinge on late-stage study results for a topical powder that the company is developing to stop bleeding during or after surgery.
Medicines Co. said Tuesday it will make a $10 million option payment upfront and then will review late-stage results from a study of 719 surgical patients with mild to moderate surgical bleeding. Those results are expected in the third quarter. If Medicines Co. is satisfied with them, it will purchase all outstanding shares of ProFibrix, which is based in the Netherlands.
Medicines Co. did not say how much it would pay for each share. The U.S. drug developer did say ProFibrix shareholders might also receive additional payments tied to U.S. and European regulatory approvals and sales milestones.
ProFibrix, which was formed in 2004, is developing Fibrocaps, which mixes the blood clotting proteins fibrinogen and thrombin to form the dry topical powder.
Medicines Co. makes the anti-clotting drug Angiomax, among other products. Last fall, it said it was ending development of a drug labeled as MDCO-2010 designed to reduce bleeding during surgery because of safety concerns.
Shares of Medicines Co. finished at $33.49 on Monday and have climbed nearly 40 percent so far this year.
