GERMANTOWN, Md. (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orgenesis Inc. (NASDAQ: ORGS) (“Orgenesis” or the “Company”), today announced that Catalent Pharma Solutions has agreed to acquire Masthercell Global, Inc., a contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) subsidiary of Orgenesis backed by Great Point Partners and SFPI-FPIM. Orgenesis anticipates that it will receive proceeds of approximately $127 million resulting from the transaction. The transaction is expected to close during the current fiscal first quarter of 2020. Orgenesis expects to use the net proceeds from the sale of Masthercell to continue to grow its point-of-care cell therapy business and to further the development of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products. Additional details on the transaction will be available in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov and on the Company’s website at: https://ir.orgenesis.com/all-sec-filings.
Vered Caplan, Chief Executive Officer of Orgenesis, stated, “We are very proud of the developments and accomplishments at Masthercell Global, which has become a best-in-class contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) servicing many of the leading cell and gene therapy companies. We are also grateful to Great Point Partners and SFPI-FPIM for their tremendous support. Since we completed our acquisition of Masthercell Global in 2015, the business has grown rapidly along with this burgeoning industry. With Catalent’s expertise and resources, we believe Masthercell Global will be well positioned to continue on its current trajectory in order to meet the evolving needs of the industry. We believe the resources provided to Orgenesis by this transaction will enable us to significantly accelerate our point-of-care (“POCare”) cell therapy platform and we look forward to providing further updates.”
Noah Rhodes, Managing Director at Great Point Partners, commented, “We have been continually impressed by Orgenesis and the management team’s thorough understanding of the industry, foresight and leadership, which enabled Masthercell’s rapid expansion to become an industry-leading and best-in-class contract development manufacture organization (CDMO). We are grateful to have partnered with Orgenesis through our investment in Masthercell and wish Orgenesis continued success with their point-of-care cell therapy platform.”
About Orgenesis
Orgenesis is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development, manufacturing and processing of technologies and services in the cell and gene therapy industry. The Company operates through two platforms: (i) a point-of-care (“POCare”) cell therapy platform (“PT”) and (ii) a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (“CDMO”) platform conducted through its subsidiary, Masthercell Global. Through its PT business, the Company’s primary focus, Orgenesis’ aim is to further the development of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (“ATMPs”) through collaborations and in-licensing with other pre-clinical and clinical-stage biopharmaceutical companies and research and healthcare institutes to bring such ATMPs to patients. The Company out-licenses these ATMPs through regional partners to whom it also provides regulatory, pre-clinical and training services to support their activity in order to reach patients in a point-of-care hospital setting. Through the Company’s CDMO platform, it is focused on providing contract manufacturing and development services for biopharmaceutical companies. Additional information is available at: www.orgenesis.com.
About Great Point Partners
Great Point Partners (“GPP”), founded in 2003 and based in Greenwich, CT, is a leading health care investment firm, currently with approximately $2.0 billion of equity capital currently under management and 28 professionals, investing in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. GPP is currently making new private equity investments from GPP III. Great Point manages capital in private (GPP I, $156 million and GPP II, $215 million of committed capital, and GPP III which has $306 million in committed capital) and public (BioMedical Value Fund family, approximately $1.5 billion) equity funds. Great Point Partners has provided growth equity, growth recapitalization, and management buyout financing to more than 100 growing health care companies. The private equity funds invest across all sectors of the health care industry with particular emphasis on biopharmaceutical services and supplies, outsourcing and alternate site care, and information technology enabled businesses. The firm pursues a proactive and proprietary approach to sourcing investments and tuck-in acquisitions for its portfolio companies.
About SFPI-FPIM
The Belgian Federal Holding and Investment Company (Société Fédérale de Participations et d'Investissement / Federale Participatie- en Investeringsmaatschappij; SFPI-FPIM), was created on November 1, 2006 as a result of a merger between the Federal Participation Company and the Federal Investment Company.
The Belgian federal government is SFPI-FPIM’s sole shareholder. SFPI-FPIM centrally manages the federal government’s shareholdings, cooperates with the government on specific projects, and pursues its own investment policy in the interests of the Belgian economy. The core business of SFPI-FPIM is as an investment company, to invest in companies with an attractive added value for society in one of the SFPI-FPIM priority sectors. As a holding company, it acquires equity in companies that are of strategic importance as far as federal policy is concerned, either making use of its own funds or by using funds that the state provides for a project.
Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements involve substantial uncertainties and risks and are based upon our current expectations, estimates and projections and reflect our beliefs and assumptions based upon information available to us at the date of this release. We caution readers that forward-looking statements are predictions based on our current expectations about future events. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Our actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including, but not limited to, our reliance on the point-of-care cell therapy platform, our ability to achieve and maintain overall profitability, the sufficiency of working capital to realize our business plans, the development of our transdifferentiation technology as therapeutic treatment for diabetes which could, if successful, be a cure for Type 1 Diabetes; our technology not functioning as expected; our ability to retain key employees; our ability to satisfy the rigorous regulatory requirements for new procedures; our competitors developing better or cheaper alternatives to our products and the risks and uncertainties discussed under the heading "RISK FACTORS" in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2018, and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement for any reason.
Contact for Orgenesis:
David Waldman
Crescendo Communications, LLC
Tel: 212-671-1021
ORGS@crescendo-ir.com
