14 Acquisition International - M & A Awards 2022 Oct22350 Best Eye Care Cross-Border Joint Venture Project: Project China SIFI is establishing a Joint Venture company, AffaMed Technologies, together with its Chinese partner AffaMed Therapeutics. It will focus on the Greater China market and allow the partnership to serve patients with its innovative solutions for cataract surgery. SIFI’s mission to improve people’s lives through innovation in eye care is now entering a new dimension given the size of China demographics as well as its growing adoption of premium medical care. ataracts are among the leading public health issues in China today, with the total prevalence estimated at over 100 million, but with only approximately 4 million cataract surgeries performed annually. As awareness and access to effective treatment options such as intraocular lenses’ (IOL) increases, the number of cataract surgeries in China is expected to grow by 8-10% per year, representing one of the highest growth rates globally. The JV will target the under-served premium market for patients seeking a high level of spectacle independence through its Extended-Depth-OfFocus (EDOF) IOLs based on the Mini Well® IOL technology and the WELL FUSION™ system, while it will also provide the highest quality mono-focal IOLs to help expand access to treatments for the wider population of patients. SIFI’s Project China and its resulting Joint Venture agreement represent a significant milestone in its international expansion program, as it is striving to forge strategic alliances globally on innovative technologies in key therapeutic areas. The creation of the JV will maximize the value of one of its key assets, SIFI’s proprietary IOL technology, leveraging on the firm’s capabilities and global market potential. Under the terms of the agreement, AffaMed Therapeutics will provide funding for growth, and support the JV in clinical development, regulatory affairs and commercial operations, while SIFI will contribute its IP, technical and manufacturing expertise, as explained by Fabrizio Chines, SIFI Chairman and CEO, and Andrea Quaglino, SIFI CFO. The Business Development team conducted Project China from preliminary market research and partner prospection up to the deal signing, with the leadership of Axel Richard, CFA, consultant to SIFI for Project China, as well as the Shanghai-based broker, YAFO Capital. “The complementarity of skills and expertise, from everyone involved either internally or externally, was the key to find the right strategic balance and to drive Project China to success” as presented by Maria Grazia Mazzone, Executive Director of Business Development & Open Innovation at SIFI. Project China is one part of a broader expansion program run by the firm. In the last few years and since 2015 (when 21 Invest, a private equity firmfoundedbyAlessandroBenetton, entered theshareholding), SIFI has undergone a virtuous growth of its business, evolving into an industrial group of companies, consolidating domestic leadership in Italy, and expanding into international markets. As a matter of fact, in July 2019 in France, SIFI concluded its first M&A operation since its foundation with the acquisition of two leading ophthalmic antiseptic brands from Laboratoire Gifrer Barbezat, Dacudoses® and Novoptine®, with the objective to accelerate penetration into France, one of the largest and most competitive markets in Western Europe. C SIFI now exports products to more than 20 countries worldwide with direct commercial operations in Italy, Spain, France, Romania, Mexico and Turkey. Looking ahead in terms of projects, SIFI is currently conducting development programs of innovative drugs including for orphan diseases such as acanthamoeba keratitis and fungal infections (AKANTIOR® recently completed its Phase 3 Trial), as well as for a dry eye disease through a molecule carrying a new mode of action and administration route. The pipeline development of SIFI is balanced between pharmaceutical and surgical projects, with a recently new focus on digital therapeutics. Making a deal amid COVID-related challenges The COVID-19 pandemic and its contingent mobility restrictions may have been perceived as a major hurdle on the road of SIFI to reach a deal in China. In 2020, numerous firms recentred their strategy on their core portfolio and competencies to mitigate risks through the uncertainty of the pandemic. However, “this situation allowed for our potential Chinese partners to strengthen their convictions, either in reinforcing their interest in SIFI’s products for China, or in pursuing other plans. In spite of a challenging global environment and travel restrictions, our mutual interests were found significantly reinforced” as commented by Axel Richard, paving the way for the JV agreement with AffaMed Therapeutics in March 2021. Picture, from left to right: Maria Grazia Mazzone, Salvatore Sciuto (Senior Manager, Medical Devices and Healthcare Regulatory Affairs), Andrea Quaglino, Fabrizio Chines, Maria Cristina Curatolo (Innovation and Medical Science Director), Axel Richard, Francesco Giuliano (Senior Manager, BD & Alliance Management). SIFI is a leading ophthalmic company, headquartered in Italy, focusing on eye care since 1935. SIFI develops, manufactures and markets innovative therapeutic solutions for patients with ophthalmic diseases across 20 countries worldwide. Website: sifigroup.com
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUyMDQwMA==