Dermapharm Holding SE acquires equity investment in CORAT Therapeutics GmbH

DGAP-News: Dermapharm Holding SE / Key word(s): Investment
07.07.2021 / 16:45
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Dermapharm Holding SE acquires equity investment in CORAT Therapeutics GmbH

Grünwald, 7 July 2021 - Dermapharm Holding SE ("Dermapharm"), a rapidly growing manufacturer of branded pharmaceuticals, is expanding its group of companies via Dermapharm AG to include an investment in the area of immunotherapies against COVID-19. To this end, Dermapharm today concluded an agreement to invest in and acquire new shares in CORAT Therapeutics GmbH, based in Braunschweig. Upon the completion of the capital increase, Dermapharm AG initially acquires 24.9% of the shares in the company, which is developing an antibody drug for treating COVID-19.

CORAT Therapeutics GmbH was founded in May 2020 and holds patents in antibodies used for the treatment of human infectious diseases. One of the drugs the company is currently developing to treat hospitalised patients with moderate to severe symptoms of COVID-19 is already undergoing testing in a clinical phase Ib/II trial and has been shown to reduce the viral load (SARS-CoV-2) in the lungs by 99.4%. Based on internal calculations, CORAT estimates that the global market for these kinds of therapies is worth at least USD 5 billion. Once CORAT's antibody therapy is brought to market in the EU in 2022, it is expected to generate sales in the high hundreds of millions of euros each year.

"Currently, there is no approved, effective, antiviral-specific treatment for hospitalised patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 symptoms. While vaccines will remain the most important tool in fighting the pandemic, they will not be able to completely prevent the occurrence of severe cases of the disease. Therefore, this therapy is another tool that is needed. By acquiring the equity investment in CORAT we are not only providing the funds needed to accelerate the development process, but also our expertise in manufacturing of the drug from antibodies," said Dr Hans-Georg Feldmeier, CEO of Dermapharm Holding SE, about the acquisition.

The other shares in CORAT are held by the company's founders via YUMAB GmbH, the Lower Saxony State Bank and private investors. "We are happy to have found a strong and strategic partner in Dermapharm. Dermapharm will share with us their regulatory, technical and scientific expertise to help us successfully realise our ideas within the team," said Dr Andreas Herrmann, CEO of CORAT.

The parties have agreed to keep the purchase price for the new shares confidential.

Company profiles:

CORAT Therapeutics GmbH

CORAT Therapeutics GmbH is a clinical phase biopharmaceutical company founded as a spin off from the recombinant antibody development company Yumab GmbH. The company is dedicated to develop therapeutic products to fight SARS-CoV-2 mediated COVID-19 disease and help to cure COVID-19 affected people suffering from this disease.

The company is located in Braunschweig (Germany) and is co-funded by the Lower Saxony State Bank and private investors.

For more information, visit www.corat-therapeutics.com

Contact:
Dr Linda Kirchner
Tel.: +49 1522 4047488
E-mail: L.Kirchner@corat-therapeutics.com

Dermapharm - Pharmaceutical Excellence "Made in Germany"

Dermapharm is a rapidly growing manufacturer of branded pharmaceuticals. Founded in 1991, the Company is based in Grünwald near Munich. The Company's integrated business model comprises in-house development, production and the distribution of brand products by a trained pharmaceutical sales force. In addition to its main location in Brehna near Leipzig, Dermapharm also operates other production, development and distribution locations in Europe (primarily in Germany) and the United States.

In the "Branded pharmaceuticals and other healthcare products" segment, Dermapharm has more than 1,300 marketing authorisations with more than 380 active pharmaceutical ingredients. Dermapharm's portfolio of pharmaceuticals, medical devices and food supplements are tailored to selected therapeutic areas in which the Company is a market leader, especially in Germany.

In the "Herbal extracts" segment, Dermapharm can tap the expertise of the Spanish company Euromed S.A., a leading global manufacturer of herbal extracts and plant-based active ingredients for the pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, foodstuffs and cosmetics industries.

Dermapharm's business model also includes the "Parallel import business" segment that operates under the "axicorp" brand. Based on revenue, Dermapharm was among the top five parallel import companies in Germany in 2020.

With a consistent R&D strategy and numerous successful product and company acquisitions and by stepping up its internationalisation efforts, Dermapharm has continuously optimised its business over the past 30 years and sought external growth opportunities in addition to organic growth. Dermapharm is firmly committed to continuing on this profitable growth course in the future.

Contact

Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Britta Hamberger
Tel.: +49 (0)89 - 64186-233
Fax: +49 (0)89 - 64186-165
E-Mail: ir@dermapharm.com

07.07.2021 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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