Hikma announces sale of Ben Venue manufacturing facilities to Xellia Pharmaceuticals

In 2014, Hikma acquired the Ben Venue assets from Boehringer Ingelheim, following its agreement to purchase the assets of Bedford Laboratories. Under the terms of the agreement announced today, Xellia has acquired substantial parts of the Ben Venue site, including four sterile injectable manufacturing plants. These plants are not currently operational. Hikma will retain the Quality and Development Centre ("QDC"), an independent building with research and development laboratories, which has been integral to the tech transfer of the Bedford products to Hikma's own manufacturing facilities. Since Hikma acquired the Ben Venue site in September 2014, it has transferred a large number of modern, high quality machines, including lyophlisers and filling lines, to its manufacturing facilities in Portugal, Germany and the US.

Said Darwazah, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hikma commented: "We are very pleased to see that Xellia plans to restart commercial operations at the Ben Venue site, which will create jobs and further support the Bedford community. We have successfully transferred equipment from Ben Venue to our different manufacturing sites, and will continue to benefit from the exceptional capabilities and skills of the Quality and Development Centre and the Bedford R&D teams on-site."