PR93289

REYKJAVIK, Iceland, Nov. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/--

- The Aztiq-Innobic consortium will acquire a 100% stake in Alvogen Emerging

Markets Holdings Limited, thereby becoming the leading shareholders in Lotus

Pharmaceutical and the sole shareholder in Adalvo

- Robert Wessman, chairman and CEO of Alvogen and founder of Aztiq, will

continue as chairman of the board of Lotus and Adalvo.

- The consortium creates a unique alliance of leaders and investors with the

industry experience, geographical reach, commitment to sustainable development

and financial strength to accelerate the companies' development

    Aztiq  [https://www.aztiqfinance.com/] ("Aztiq"), a healthcare investor led

by Alvogen Founder and Chairman Robert Wessman, and Innobic (Asia) Company

Limited ("Innobic"), [https://innobicasia.com/corporate-profile/direction] a

life sciences subsidiary of Thailand industrial group PTT,  today announced the

signing of a definitive agreement to acquire a 100% stake in Alvogen Emerging

Market Holdings Limited ("AEMH") from its existing shareholders for $475

million. The aim of the alliance between Aztiq and Innobic and the transaction

is to create a powerful pharmaceuticals enterprise with global resources,

networks and reach.

    Through the transaction, one of the largest in the sector this year, the

consortium becomes the leading shareholder in the global oncology

pharmaceutical company Lotus Pharmaceutical ("Lotus", TWSE ticker: 1795), and

the sole shareholder in Alvogen Malta Holding Ltd., the owner of the

fast-growing global business to business (B2B) pharmaceutical company Adalvo.

    AEMH is currently owned by Alvogen Lux Holdings Sarl ("Alvogen").  Key

shareholders in Alvogen include CVC Capital Partners and Temasek Holdings of

Singapore, as well as Aztiq. Alvogen will remain a leading shareholder in the

generic pharmaceutical company Alvogen US, including specialty pharma company

Almatica, [https://almatica.com/] as well as the second largest shareholder in

global biosimilars company Alvotech. [https://www.alvotech.com/]

The members of the consortium bring impressive and complementary leadership and

expertise. Robert Wessman has over the last six years successfully led the

transformation of Lotus from a small local Taiwanese company into a leading

generic ora oncology company.  Innobic's parent company PTT Group is Thailand's

largest industrial conglomerate, with extensive commercial and business

networks across the fast-growing ASEAN countries.

Aztiq's founder and chairman, Robert Wessman, will continue to serve as

chairman of the board of both Lotus and Adalvo.

This consortium's unique market knowledge along with strong support from

shareholders will provide Lotus and Adalvo with a competitive advantage in a

thriving industry, enabling them to extend their leadership globally. Both

companies share the mission of making high-quality medicines accessible to

patients around the world, and with the expertise and resources that will be

readily available to them, they will accelerate progress towards this goal.

From oral oncology to research innovation in over-the-counter products, Lotus

and Adalvo will together pave the way for greater global access to first-class

treatments and medication.

    Robert Wessman, chairman and CEO of Alvogen and founder of Aztiq,

commented: "I am very proud to have witnessed the maturation of both Lotus and

Adalvo. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the existing

shareholders for their great support in the transformation of both Lotus and

Adalvo, and at the same time to welcome our new partner Innobic as we look

forward to carrying out the essential work of expanding access to medicines to

more people who need them. With our vast collective expertise, and the

comprehensive geographic networks and solid market intelligence in ASEAN

brought by innobic and PTT, I believe that Lotus and Adalvo will have a

compelling competitive advantage, enabling both enterprises to support one

another and advance their global leadership in their sectors."

    Dr. Buranin Rattanasombat, senior executive vice president, innovation and

new ventures, PTT and chairman of Innobic (Asia), commented: "This partnership

will accelerate our goal and enable Innobic to leap into being a fully

integrated pharmaceutical company. By being the major shareholder in Lotus

Pharmaceutical jointly with Aztiq, Innobic will have access to the capability

of operating a full suite of pharmaceutical business with a primary focus on

generic in many key disease areas, specially oncology and neurological disease.

This investment, together with the global networks of Adalvo,will strengthen

access to high quality medicines in region and  is a major milestone for our

life sciences business and its mission to advance public health and the

pharmaceutical industry in Thailand and the region."

    Tomas Ekman, Director of the Board, Alvogen Lux, commented: "After 7 years

as the lead shareholder of Lotus and the broader Asian business, Alvogen

concluded that now is the right time to monetize our investment and letting

Aztiq and Innobic continue the journey Lotus is on. Both Adalvo and Lotus will

continue to collaborate closely with the Alvogen group of companies. Today's

announcement is consistent with Alvogen's strategic focus and we intend to

deploy the proceeds from the transaction in line with our capital allocation

priorities to maximize shareholder value."

    NOTES TO EDITORS:

    About Aztiq

*   Aztiq is a long-term healthcare investor focused on pharmaceuticals, led by

Alvogen founder and chairman Robert Wessman. Going forward, Aztiq will be

acting as a specialized pharmaceutical fund advisor and manager investing in

various pharmaceutical assets.

*  Aztiq's shareholder base consists of individual investors as well as major

international investment funds among whose largest assets are pharmaceuticals

companies Alvogen, Alvotech, Lotus, Almatica, Almaject and Adalvo.

*  Established in 2009, Aztiq was founded on the principle that everyone should

have the right to medicine, regardless of their financial means.

   Relevant history

*  Alvogen acquired a majority stake in Lotus in 2014 and since then Lotus has

evolved into a next-generation pharmaceuticals company focused on global

oncology, with direct market access in more than 10 countries in Asia and a

portfolio with global into more than 130 markets.

*  Since 2018, Alvogen has evolved Adalvo from an in-house B2B platform into a

separate business unit focusing on global markets. Adalvo has rapidly achieved

remarkable growth, with over 500 transactions and a world-class portfolio of 60

differentiated medicines. It is currently one of the fastest growing B2B

pharmaceutical company globally, serving partners and patients in over 100

markets around the world.

    Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1696901/Virtual_Signing.jpg  

    Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1696676/AZTIQ_Logo.jpg

Source: Aztiq Fjarfestingar ehf