Shire moves in on Movetis

Shire has made a €428 million offer for Belgium-based Movetis in a bid to grow its business in Europe and extend its gastrointestinal product portfolio.

The move already has the unanimous support of Movetis’s board of directors and almost 40% of shareholders have agreed to tender their shares, though this needs to rise to 90% for Shire to follow-through on its offer.

Dirk Reyn, chief executive of Movetis, added: “The management teams of Movetis and Shire believe that, together, we will be able to build on our knowhow, our existing European teams and our infrastructure to become a partner of choice for European gastrointestinal specialists and optimise the commercialisation of Resolor alongside Mezavant in Europe.

“Taking our other assets in development into account, we have one of the strongest global and European product portfolios in gastroenterology.”

Shire said in a statement that Movetis staff would play key roles in its gastrointestinal R&D efforts, the European commercialisation of Resolor and, over time, work on Shire’s own gastrointestinal drug Mezavant.

Constipation drug Resolor is currently midway through a European launch programme and this week received a preliminary green light from UK drugs’ watchdog NICE.

Staf Van Reet, chairman of the board of directors of Movetis, said: “This transaction, when completed, will create significant shareholder value. This offer is a further remarkable milestone in Movetis’s brief and dynamic history.”

Ben Adams