Germany’s Fresenius sells biotechnology business to Israel’s Fuhrer family

German diversified medical equipment company Fresenius SE, yesterday said that it has sold its biotechnology business to Israel's Fuhrer family, who own Neopharm Co. Ltd, Israel's second largest pharma company, for an undisclosed sum.

The Bad Homburg-based company said that the transaction, which closed today, includes both products Removab, used for the treatment of malignant ascites, and immunosuppressive drug ATG-Fresenius S, used in organ and stem cell transplants.

In December 2012, Fresenius had announced that it would focus on its four established business segments, Fresenius Medical Care, Fresenius Kabi, Fresenius Helios and Fresenius Vamed, which offer significant growth opportunities.

"The divestiture underlines our strong commitment to focused growth in our four core business segments. We are delighted that our biotechnology business will be in the capable hands of Neopharm, a company with entrepreneurial vision and an outstanding track record in the healthcare field," said, Ulf Mark Schneider, CEO of Fresenius.

David Fuhrer, chairman and CEO of Neopharm, said, "The acquisition represents a cornerstone in our strategic objective to transform Neopharm Group into a multinational fully-integrated bio-pharmaceutical company. Our objective is to establish Fresenius Biotech as an independent, rapidly-growing, innovative global player which is committed to bring hope to patients suffering from rare, life-threatening diseases.''

Founded in 1912, Fresenius is a diversified medical equipment company that provides products and services for dialysis, hospitals as well as inpatient and outpatient medical care.

Fresenius, which also owns Fresenius Medical Care, the world's largest dialysis company, focuses on hospital management as well as on engineering and services for medical centres and other health care facilities.

The company employs over 137,000 people at its operations in almost 100 countries.