Arnold & Porter Advises SpePharm AG on Its Sale of Chemotherapy Drug to Clinigen Group

London, 31 March 2014 -- The London office of Arnold & Porter LLP advised SpePharm AG, an affiliate of independent European specialty pharmaceutical company Norgine B.V., on its sale of SAVENE® – a drug used for the treatment of extravasation in anthracycline chemotherapy in adults – to LSE and AIM-listed global pharmaceutical company Clinigen Group plc. The financial terms of the divestment, which was announced today, are not being disclosed.

Under the terms of the agreement, Clinigen will assume full responsibility for SAVENE®'s manufacturing, registration, distribution, and commercialisation in all markets excluding North America, South America, Israel and South Africa. In Japan, Clinigen will provide SAVENE® through an existing supply and license agreement.

The Arnold & Porter team was led by corporate partner Anna Buscall and commercial licensing/IP partner Richard Dickinson, both in London. They were assisted by counsel Jake Marshall, and acted alongside the Norgine in-house legal team, which was led by Sheila Hopkins.

The London office of Arnold & Porter has a cross-departmental focus on advising clients in the life sciences sector, and a track record of M&A and licensing deals for pharmaceutical companies. This is the second transaction this year in which it has acted for Norgine. In January 2014 it advised this client on a major collaboration and licensing deal from personalised cell therapy with Austria-based biotech company Innovacell.

Arnold & Porter LLP is an international law firm of nearly 800 lawyers with offices in Brussels, Denver, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Washington, D. C. The firm, founded in 1946, maintains more than 26 practice areas spanning a broad spectrum of the law, with a primary focus on litigation, transactional matters, and regulatory issues.