Shares in drug company MediGene have risen sharply following rumours that Pfizer is eyeing the German spin-out as a takeover target.
MediGene’s Martinsried, Munich, headquarters
MediGene was founded in 1994 as a spin-out from the Munich Gene Center. With some 175 employees, it focuses on cancer, skin diseases and autoimmune diseases. It reported revenues for the first quarter of 2008 of €4.99 million.
In April 2008 the company announced that the European Medicines Agency has issued a positive opinion on Oracea, a treatment for rosacea, that would make it the first drug to be marketed directly by MediGene. MediGene acquired the European marketing rights to Oracea from US pharmaceutical company CollaGenex in December 2006.
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