Ad-hoc | 14 December 2011 10:49
4SC AG / Key word(s): Strategic Company Decision/Miscellaneous
14.12.2011 10:49
Dissemination of an Ad hoc announcement according to § 15 WpHG, transmitted
by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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4SC forms subsidiary to commercialise innovative early-stage drug research
programmes and strengthen revenue from research collaborations
- Transfer of early-stage research activities to 100% subsidiary 4SC
Discovery GmbH
- Goal: strengthen business by generating additional revenue from
early-stage research
- Extraordinary yield in annual result for 2012 (in accordance with German
commercial law) expected due to the release of undisclosed hidden reserves
Planegg-Martinsried, Germany, 14 December 2011 - The Managing Board and
Supervisory Board of 4SC AG (Frankfurt, Prime Standard: VSC), a biotech
company focusing on the discovery and development of targeted small
molecule drugs for autoimmune diseases and cancer, today decided and
announced that 4SC will transfer almost the entire early-stage research
activities of the company to a 100% subsidiary, which will operate under
the name of 4SC Discovery GmbH. With pharmaceutical companies increasingly
outsourcing their research to specialized biotech firms due to intensified
cost pressure and competitive constraints, it is the strategic goal of
4SC's new subsidiary to benefit from this trend and to generate additional
revenue from its early-stage drug research activities. The new subsidiary
will focus on collaborations with pharmaceutical companies in the fields of
drug discovery and drug optimization as well as on the commercialisation of
4SC's proprietary drug programmes in early-stage research phases. This is
meant to strengthen the sustainability of 4SC's business model, to reduce
the company's dependence on financing over the capital markets and to make
the value of 4SC's early-stage research programmes more transparent to the
markets. Moreover the bundling of the company's research activities in the
4SC Discovery GmbH allows for a more independent positioning of the
subsidiary on the market together with a higher flexibility to engage into
research collaborations with pharmaceutical partners.
In a capital increase by way of contribution in kind, both tangible and
intangible assets belonging to the research activities of 4SC AG will be
transferred to 4SC Discovery GmbH which has yet to be formed and will start
operations in the beginning of 2012. Assets include all those pre-clinical
projects and products, for which no so called early development candidate
(EDC) has been defined yet and all intellectual property (IP) rights
related to these programmes as well as 4SC's proprietary technology
platforms for modeling, screening and drug discovery. 29 employees are
expected to be transferred from 4SC AG to the subsidiary. In the individual
financial statement of 4SC AG for 2012, set up in accordance with German
commercial law (HGB), an extraordinary yield in the upper single-digit
million euro range is expected to occur in the annual result due to the
release of undisclosed hidden reserves in connection with the valuation of
the assets transferred to the subsidiary; the exact amount of this
extraordinary yield has yet to be determined. In 4SC AG's individual
balance sheet (HGB), the accumulated deficit will be lowered and the
financial assets strengthened accordingly.
4SC AG, which will become the group parent company of 4SC Discovery GmbH,
will keep its strategic and operational scope of focusing on the clinical
development and commercialization of advanced-stage drugs in the
therapeutic areas of cancer and autoimmune diseases.
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Information and Explaination of the Issuer to this News:
Further information about the scope of 4SC Discovery GmbH
In detail, 4SC Discovery GmbH will act as a service provider for
pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies. In research collaborations
with these clients, 4SC Discovery GmbH will offer its know-how, its
capacities, as well as its technology platform in the fields of drug
discovery and drug optimization. Furthermore, the subsidiary will aim at
generating additional revenue through the commercialisation of 4SC's
proprietary products in early-stage research and pre-clinical development
phases, for example through co-development and commercialisation
partnerships. Thus, the development of 4SC's early-stage drug programmes
can be accelerated and the development risk lowered, at the same time
allowing the company to benefit from the programmes' value enhancement
during further development, for example through licensing income or
received milestone payments. The new subsidiary will finally continue to
engage in the discovery and research of novel drug candidates for the
further enhancement of 4SC AG's own clinical development pipeline.
About 4SC
4SC (ISIN DE0005753818) discovers and develops targeted small-molecule
drugs for the treatment of diseases with a high unmet medical need in
various autoimmune and cancer indications. These drugs are intended to
provide patients with innovative treatment options that are more tolerable
and efficacious than existing therapies, and provide a better quality of
life. The company's balanced pipeline comprises promising products that are
in various stages of clinical development. 4SC's aim is to generate future
growth and enhance its enterprise value by entering into partnerships with
leading pharmaceutical companies. Founded in 1997, 4SC currently has
altogether 94 employees and has been listed on the Prime Standard of the
Frankfurt Stock Exchange since December 2005.
Legal Note
This document may contain projections or estimates relating to plans and
objectives relating to our future operations, products, or services; future
financial results; or assumptions underlying or relating to any such
statements; each of which constitutes a forward-looking statement subject
to risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. Actual
results could differ materially, depending on a number of factors.
For further information, please visit www.4sc.com or contact:
4SC AG
Jochen Orlowski, Investor Relations & Public Relations
jochen.orlowski(at)4sc.com
Tel.: +49 (0) 89 70 07 63 66
Bettina v. Klitzing-Stückle, Corporate Communications
bettina.von.klitzing(at)4sc.com
Tel.: +49 (0) 89 70 07 63 0
MC Services (Europe)
Raimund Gabriel
raimund.gabriel(at)mc-services.eu
Tel.: +49 (0) 89 21 02 28 30
Mareike Mohr
mareike.mohr(at)mc-services.eu
Tel.: +49 (0) 89 21 02 28 40
The Trout Group (USA)
Chad Rubin
Crubin(at)troutgroup.com
Tel.: +1 646 378 2947
14.12.2011 DGAP's Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements,
Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de
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Language: English
Company: 4SC AG
Am Klopferspitz 19a
82152 Martinsried
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)89 7007 63-0
Fax: +49 (0)89 7007 63-29
E-mail: public@4sc.com
Internet: www.4sc.de
ISIN: DE0005753818
WKN: 575381
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
in Berlin, Düsseldorf, München, Stuttgart
End of Announcement DGAP News-Service
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