Sources inform ''Globes'' that two senior vice presidents from Serono (NYSE:SRA; SWX:SEO) will visit Israel in September to consider investment in six Israeli biotechnology companies, mostly start-ups or incubator companies. They are the vice presidents for business development and intellectual property. Serono, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, is the maker of Rebif, a drug for treating multiple sclerosis.
In October 2004, Serono closed InterPharm Laboratories in Ness Ziona and fired 130 of the subsidiary’s 160 employees. InterPharm created Rebif on the basis of a discovery by Prof. Mishel Revel of the Weizmann Institute of Science.
Serono, the world’s third largest biotechnology company, plans to renew investment in Israeli biotechnology. This time, however, it plans to exploit Israel’s advantages in science and development, rather than carry out extensive production here.
The two vice presidents and their teams will meet with representatives of the Israeli companies with a view of possible acquisition, investment in R&D, or purchase of development rights to the companies’ technologies. If Serono decides to buy the R&D, small-scale production could continue for clinical trials on humans at InterPharm’s facility, since some of its equipment is still in place.
Serono’s revenue rose 21.8% in 2004 to $2.15 billion, and its net profit rose 26.7% to $494.2 million.
Chief Scientist Dr. Eli Opper says Israeli biotechnology needs the entry of biotechnology giants to significantly leverage the level of basic drug development science and research and conduct clinical trials. No international biotechnology company currently operates an R&D center in Israel, or invests in ventures in the sector.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on August 3, 2005