RIEMSER Pharma GmbH Announces Takeover of Keocyt, a French Pharmaceutical Company, Strengthening its International Position in the Specialty Pharmaceutical Sector

RIEMS, Germany and PARIS, May 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

German specialty pharmaceutical company RIEMSER Pharma GmbH today announced the acquisition of French specialty pharmaceutical company Keocyt. With this acquisition, RIEMSER reached another important milestone of its international growth strategy and significantly strengthens its position on the French and neighbouring Southern European markets.

Keocyt brings to market pharmaceutical products that are applied in the treatment of rare diseases, especially in cancer therapy and neurology. The Paris based company was founded in 2007 by two former employees of Pfizer and markets the drugs Zanosar, Estracyt, Prodilantin and Dilantin used for the treatment of certain pancreatic endocrine tumors, prostate cancer and status epilepticus, respectively.

"I am very pleased that with the backing of our majority shareholder ARDIAN, we could acquire Keocyt, a very successful specialty pharmaceutical company, to further strengthen our European growth strategy. The course of the acquisition of companies with established products and strong marketing expertise we want to continue, "said Dr. Kai Deusch, CEO of RIEMSER Pharma GmbH. "This acquisition successfully extends our oncological portfolio in France and opens possibilities of developing niche markets in the neurological sector in the future. In addition, Keocyt contributes a very attractive product pipeline to the joint cohesive product portfolio."

"We are very excited about the opportunity to jointly expand and accelerate our growth strategy in the French and Southern European markets under the roof of RIEMSER Pharma GmbH", said Dr. Christophe Pasik, co-founder of Keocyt, who will serve as the CEO of RIEMSER Pharma France S.A.S which will have its headquarters in Paris.

About RIEMSER Pharma GmbH 

RIEMSER Pharma GmbH, headquartered in Greifswald, Germany, is a midsize pharmaceutical company specialized in marketing and sophisticated life cycle management of specialty drugs for treatment of highly complex and niche disease areas. RIEMSER targets European markets but its products are distributed worldwide by a wide-ranging partner network.

About Keocyt 

Keocyt is a privately owned company operating in Paris, France. Founded in 2007 by Jean-Francois Auffret and Christophe Pasik, Keocyt as specialty pharma company, focusing on oncology and neurology. The approach has been to market established products treating diseases with high medical need. The company has put a special emphasis on building long-term and reliable partnerships with doctors, scientists and patients' associations.

About ARDIAN 

Founded in 1996 and led by Dominique Senequier, Ardian is a premium independent private investment company with assets of US$47bn managed or advised in Europe, North America and Asia. The company, which is majority-owned by its employees, keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and delivers investment performance to its global investors while fuelling growth in economies across the world. Ardian's investment process blends discipline and conviction with a long-term philosophy.

Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 330 employees working through ten offices in Beijing, Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Milan, New York, Paris, Singapore, and Zurich. The company offers its 300 investors a diversified choice of funds covering the full range of asset classes, including Funds of Funds (primary, early secondary and secondary), Private Debt, Direct Funds including Infrastructure, Expansion, Mid Cap Buyout, Innovation & Growth, Co-Investment.

Press contact for RIEMSER Pharma GmbH
Claudia Kerber
Head of Communication
An der Wiek 7
17493 Greifswald
Germany
phone +49-30-338427-477
e-mail kerber@RIEMSER.com
http://www.RIEMSER.com