Grífols buys 21.3% of biotech company TiGenix for €12 million

Barcelona (ACN).- Catalan pharmaceutical company Grífols has purchased 21.3% of Belgian biotech company TiGenix for €12 million through the subscription of a capital increase with the exclusion of subscription rights for TiGenix N.V. TiGenix is a leading company in the field of cell therapy, listed at NYSE Euronext Brussels. It has its headquarters in Louvain (Leuven in Flemish), along with centres in Madrid and Sittard-Gelcen (The Netherlands). The agreement settled on the appointment of two Grífols Members on TiGenix’s Board and a preferential right to negotiate the development and commercialization of all TiGenix owned product, with the only exception of advanced-medicinal product ChondroCelect. Earlier this month, Grífols had already strengthened its therapeutic arsenal by buying part of the Diagnostics unit of Swiss multinational Novartis for $1,675 million. The Catalan company is a world leader in blood-derivate pharmaceutical products, with a significant presence in the United States and South-East Asia.

ChondroCelect, which is excluded from Grífols’ agreement, is an advanced-medicinal therapies product. TiGenix , 100% shareholder of TiGenix SA, obtained the first approval in Europe for this product. TiGenix S.A. - formerly known as Cellerix S.A. - is a company dedicated to researching and developing stem cells derived from adipose tissue.

The €12 million investment has been made through Gri-Cel S.A. - 100% owned by Grífols. Gri-Cel’s main objective is to manage and invest in companies dedicated to advanced-medicinal therapies and personalised medicine.