By Donald Zuhn —

Schering-Plough Corporation announced on March 12th that its Board of Directors has approved the purchase of Organon BioSciences N.V. from Akzo Nobel N.V. for US $14.4 billion.  Schering-Plough chairman and CEO Fred Hassan noted that the acquisition would give Schering-Plough immediate access to central nervous system and women’s health care products, and fill a gap in the company’s late-stage pipeline by adding five compounds in Phase III development.  The five compounds in Phase III development are:

• Asenapine – a novel psychopharmacologic agent for the treatment of patients with schizophrenia and acute mania bipolar disorder.

• Sugammadex – for the reversal of neuromuscular blockade induced during surgical procedures.

• NOMAC/E2 – an oral contraceptive product containing nomegestrol acetate, a novel progesterone, and estriadiol, a natural estrogen.

• ORG36286 – a long-acting recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone for infertility.

• Esmirtazapine (ORG50081) – for the treatment of insomnia and potentially for hot flashes in menopausal women.

Organon BioSciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of Akzo Nobel, consists of two operating units: Organon, a human pharmaceuticals business, and Intervet,
the world’s third largest animal health care company.  In 2006, Organon
had US $3.4 billion in sales and Intervet had US $1.5 billion in
sales.  Organon’s leading products include Follistim/Puregon, a
follicle-stimulating hormone for infertility; Esmeron/Zemuron, a muscle
relaxant; and NuvaRing and Implanon for contraception. 
Among the
products being offered by Intervet are Nobivac, a range of canine
vaccines; Panacur, a de-wormer; Bovilis, a bovine biological for
disease control and eradication; and Nobilis, a poultry vaccine to keep
flocks free from infectious disease.

Organon’s patent portfolio includes twenty U.S. patents and at least four U.S. patent application publications, including U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2006/0084692 and 2006/0128688, which are directed to methods of treating bipolar disorders or schizophrenia using asenapine, and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007/0027134, which is directed to a crystal form asenapine maleate.  Intervet’s portfolio includes six U.S. patents.

Interestingly, Akzo Nobel’s sale of Organon BioSciences marked a
departure from its announcement late last month that it planned to list
the pharmaceutical company before the end of March (see Reuters report).
Akzo Nobel’s plans for an Organon IPO had come on the heels of good
news regarding Organon’s attempt to secure FDA approval for its
schizoprenia drug asenapine.

Schering-Plough said that it expects the deal to close by the end of this year.

Additional information concerning the merger can be found in a statement released by Akzo Nobel.