KV acquires Gestiva from Hologic in $82 million deal

BEDFORD, Mass. Hologic and KV Pharmaceuticals have signed an agreement under which Hologic will sell full rights of its drug Gestiva to KV, according to published reports.

The drug, which is used to prevent preterm birth in pregnant women with a history of at least one spontaneous preterm birth, is still waiting for approval from the Food and Drug Administration and therefore the agreement can only be completed once the drug is approved.

The development of Gestiva was originally started by Adeza Biomedical, which was acquired by Cytyc on April 2, 2007. On Oct. 22, Hologic completed its business combination transaction with Cytyc and, as a result, acquired all rights to Gestiva.

KV Pharmaceuticals will pay Hologic $82 million in cash, $7.5 million of which is payable at the closing of the transaction and the balance of which is payable upon final approval by the FDA of the Gestiva application and the production of a quantity of Gestiva suitable to enable the commercial launch of the product. The closing of the transaction is expected to occur within 30 days after the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

“We are pleased to complete this transaction to sell the Gestiva product line to KV Pharmaceuticals,” Jack Cumming, chief executive officer, Hologic, said. “We believe women worldwide will better realize the benefits of Gestiva coming from a dedicated pharmaceutical firm. This will also allow Hologic to remain focused in our primary fields of medical devices and cancer diagnostics for women.”