French pharma company moves its IP to Ireland

France-based pharmaceutical company Flamel Technologies has moved its IP to Ireland.

The IP portfolio contains patents covering its platforms Micropump and Medusa, which affect the delivery of drugs.

The Micropump platform helps to delay the absorption of drugs taken orally and Medusa is a polymer that is injected and which can delay absorption for up to two weeks.

The company, headquartered in Lyon, said it expects a one-time tax payment of $14 million (€11 million) to the French government as a result of the transfer.

In November, the company agreed a deal with pharma company Recipharm AB for it to take control of its manufacturing facility in Pessac, near Bordeaux. Recipharm AB made a payment of just under €11 million for control of the facility and a further €10.5 million in Flamel’s stocks.

Michael Anderson, chief executive of Flamel, said: “For operational reasons we believe this is the right time for the transfer of the intangible property to our Irish entity.

“After the divestiture of the Pessac facility, this allows us to reorganise our business on a global basis, with our R&D remaining in Lyon, our clinical and supply chain functions to be headquartered in Ireland, and our commercial organisation to be centred in the US,” he added.