Bioniche signs purchase agreement for sale of Pharma Group to RoundTable Healthcare

By Lisa Kerner

Erie, Pa., Jan. 13 - Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Bioniche Pharma Group Ltd., its sterile injectables manufacturing subsidiary, to RoundTable Health Partners, according to a news release.

The transaction, expected to close this month, has a value of approximately $33 million, including cash, debt assumption, equity in the business going forward and deferred sale proceeds, Bioniche said.

With the sale, Bioniche will eliminate a significant portion of its consolidated debt including a $7.5 million bridge loan obtained from Laurus Funds, part of an $18.5 million financing deal that closed in December.

The balance of the proceeds will be applied to working capital and the company's strategic focus, said the release.

"The Pharma Group business unit was established by Bioniche in 1992 as a means of generating revenue to support the company's strategic research and development projects," Graeme McRae, Bioniche Life Sciences president and chief executive officer explained in the release.

"At this point in the Pharma Group's development, it requires continued investment to reach its full potential. RoundTable's extensive experience in building companies in the sterile injectibles field gives us great confidence in the Pharma Group's future."

Bioniche's proprietary cancer treatment - Mycobacterial Cell Wall-DNA Complex - is entering a planned multi-center phase 3 pivotal clinical trial in superficial bladder cancer, said officials. Its E. coli O157:H7 cattle vaccine is nearing licensing, with final regulatory submission to the U.S. Department of Agriculture expected early this year.

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. is a Belleview, Ont., biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and marketing of proprietary products for human and animal health markets, including proprietary cancer therapies.

Bioniche Pharma Group, also with headquarters in Belleview, Ont., is a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets sterile injectable products.

RoundTable Healthcare Partners is a private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry, with headquarters in Lake Forest, Ill.

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