Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA) plans to acquire Rockville-based privately-held biopharmaceutical company, CoGenesys, Inc, which has a broad-based biotechnology platform and focused on the development of peptide- and protein-based medicines across broad therapeutic categories.

Teva will pay a purchase price of $400 million cash, funded from its internal resources. The deal has been approved by the boards of directors of each company and by the shareholders of CoGenesys and is subject to customary closing conditions (including approval under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976), and is expected to close during the first half of 2008.

CoGenesys was established in 2005 as a division within Human Genome Sciences Inc. (HGSI) to focus on early drug development and was spun off as an independent company in June 2006. The company's strategy is to demonstrate safety and proof of concept in clinical trials followed by selectively licensing or partnering of compounds to fund further development.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltdis among the top 20 pharmaceutical companies in the world and is the leading generic pharmaceutical company. It develops, manufactures and markets generic and innovative human pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. Over 80 per cent of Teva's sales are in North America and Europe.

In its recently completed strategic review, Teva identified biopharmaceuticals,  and primarily biogenerics, as a key, long-term growth opportunity for itself. With this acquisition, Teva says it is taking a significant step towards advancing its strategic goals, demonstrating its commitment to becoming a leading player in the biogenerics market, as that market evolves.

Teva will simultaneously gain access to a world-class biotechnology research team led by Dr. Craig Rosen and Steve Mayer, to cutting edge technologies, as well as to an attractive innovative pipeline.

"Biopharmaceuticals will be a long-term growth driver for Teva, and this transaction represents an important spring-board in our efforts to establish ourselves among the leaders in this market," said Shlomo Yanai, Teva's president and CEO. "CoGenesys' breadth of technologies and the depth of their team and pipeline complement Teva's large-scale operations, extensive resources and its proven expertise in bringing drugs to market. This combination will enable us to realize our vision of delivering high quality, affordable biopharmaceuticals worldwide. CoGenesys' acquisition reflects our commitment to capture the significant long-term prospects we believe the biogenerics market will offer."

Teva's existing biotechnology infrastructure includes product development and manufacturing in several countries. The company also markets a portfolio of biopharmaceutical drugs outside the United States, including interferon alpha 2b, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (GCSF) and human growth hormone ("hGH"), while marketing hGH in the United States as well.

Based on over 15 years of peptide- and protein-based drug development research, CoGenesys brings to Teva advanced technological platforms (including albumin fusion, a novel approach to long acting biopharmaceuticals), which are key to establishing Teva's leadership position in biogenerics. In addition, its innovative pipeline addresses a broad spectrum of therapeutic categories.

"We are excited to enter into this agreement with Teva, a true leader in the global pharmaceutical industry," stated Dr. Craig Rosen, CoGenesys' co-founder, chief scientific officer and executive chairman. "Teva has already demonstrated a commitment to our organization and shares our vision of developing high-value peptide- and protein-based products. Teva's resources, its extensive clinical experience and regulatory expertise create the optimal environment for the CoGenesys team to continue and successfully commercialize our scientific work."

Dr Rosen brings to Teva a world renowned track record in biopharmaceutical R&D work. Prior to founding CoGenesys, Dr. Rosen was President and Chief Scientific Officer of HGSI.

Bill Marth, president and CEO of Teva North America, added, "I would like to welcome this high caliber cadre of scientists to the Teva family. I am pleased that Steve, Craig and the rest of the CoGenesys team are committed to remaining with Teva to continue to enhance their innovative technologies and bring their pipeline to the market."