Biogen Sells Stake in Biosimilars Venture to Samsung Biologics for $2.3 Billion

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Shares of

Biogen

were rising slightly Friday after the company said it would be selling its stake in a biosimilars joint venture to partner

Samsung Biologics

for up to $2.3 billion.

The Samsung Bioepis joint venture was created in 2012. Biogen (ticker: BIIB) owns almost 50% of the partnership.

“We are thankful to Samsung Biologics for a productive collaboration since 2012,” said Michel Vounatsos, Biogens chief executive officer, in a statement. “We believe biosimilars are essential to help sustain healthcare systems and represent an important value creation opportunity for Biogen.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Biogen will receive $1 billion in cash at closing and $1.25 billion to be deferred over two payments. Biogen also is eligible to receive up to $50 million upon certain commercial milestones being achieved.

Biogen shares have declined 8.6% year to date and 22.4% over the past year as sales of Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm have struggled.

Earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a draft decision that would not allow Medicare to pay for Aduhelm, unless patients were participating in a CMS-approved clinical trial. Biogen has pushed back hard at the draft. A final decision is due in April.

The future for Aduhelm is in serious doubt if CMS’s final decision isn’t substantially different from the draft issued this month.

The stock also took a sharp hit at the end of last year after Samsung Group denied a report from a South Korean newspaper that the group was in talks to acquire drugmaker Biogen.

Write to Joe Woelfel at joseph.woelfel@barrons.com