Clinigen Group PLC (LON:CLIN) has extended its relationship with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) in a deal that will provide access to the latter's products in South Africa.
Clinigen's commercial medicines arm will lend local regulatory expertise, supply and distribution infrastructure and experience in managing licensed drugs there.
WATCH: Clinigen and Bristol-Myers Squibb sign extended partnership agreement in South Africa
The five-year tie-up will see the transfer of marketing authorisations from BMS to the UK company, a process that will be completed in the first half of next year.
Growing basket of drugs
Clinigen will then have 192 actively marketed specialist pharmaceutical and technology licensed products in Africa and Asia-Pacific.
The deal will "complement the group's growing basket of essential medicines", the company said.
Chief executive Shaun Chilton added: "[It] demonstrates the long and successful relationship we have built with BMS, which began with providing access to BMS' unlicensed products globally, and has grown with Clinigen's expansion into important future growth markets.
"Clinigen is increasingly becoming the partner of choice for pharmaceutical companies to license and distribute their products.
"This agreement shows that our strategy for commercial medicines of adding regional commercial agreements to our existing portfolio of global products, a key strategic priority for the group, is working."
Shares up, but could they go higher
The shares rose 1.9% to 853p, valuing Clinigen at just over £1bn.
The City broker Numis reckons the stock is worth 1,208p. Analyst Stefan Hamill said: “The deal builds on a long-lasting relationship between Clinigen and BMS, starting in its management of BMS unlicensed medicines products globally.
“The importance of a major pharma company such as BMS entrusting its products to Clinigen in the region is that it should now provide Clinigen with a good case study to roll out a similar relationship with other such companies over time.
“The strategy is in some ways is analogous to Hikma's strategy in the Middle East and North Africa.”