Sale of the Business Operations of PAION is finalized

On 22 December 2023, the Specialty Pharma Company PAION AG announces that PAION AG and its German subsidiary, PAION Deutschland GmbH, with the approval of the preliminary insolvency administrator of PAION AG and PAION Deutschland GmbH, attorney Dr. Mark Boddenberg, concluded negotiations with HumanWell Healthcare Group ("Humanwell") and entered into an agreement on the sale of the essential business operations of PAION AG and PAION Deutschland GmbH.

Tilmann Bur, CEO of PAION AG, commented as follows: "It fills us with great satisfaction to know that the core of our company and its products are being placed in competent hands. This ensures that patients can continue to benefit from high-quality therapy options."

In March 2024, PAION AG announced that the sale of the business operations of the insolvent PAION AG and its subsidiary, PAION Deutschland GmbH, has been completed. Since 23 February 2024, PAION has continued its business as a subsidiary of the Humanwell Healthcare Group as a fully-fledged and independent company under the name PAION Pharma GmbH.

PAION's pharmaceutical expertise remains fully intact. In the research, development, manufacture and distribution of pharmaceutical products, Humanwell focuses on areas that match PAION's expertise in intensive care and anesthesia. The strategic partnership is designed to complement and strengthen this area.

"The sale of PAION to Humanwell is a success for the insolvency process, as the majority of jobs have been saved and the full and comprehensive continuation of business operations has been secured. I am confident that PAION will be positioned for the future under the umbrella of Humanwell," says Dr. Mark Boddenberg.

Irregularities became known in October 2023 in the area of responsibility of the company's CFO at the time with regard to financing that was essential for the company, therefore, PAION began a sale process at the end of last year in order to rescue the company, which had run into liquidity bottlenecks.

An exclusive remimazolam license agreement for the Chinese market had been in place between Humanwell, via its subsidiary Yichang Humanwell, and PAION since 2012. In 2022, an agreement on the assignment of patent rights was concluded with Humanwell. Under this agreement, PAION transferred all Chinese remimazolam patents and related future royalties for sales in China to Humanwell.

As the exclusive investment and M&A advisor to Humanwell, Eurasian Consulting successfully assisted Humanwell in the acquisition of the patent ownership of Remimazolam in mainland China and Hongkong, and continued to participated in and supported for the following acquisition of PAION. During the whole M&A process, Eurasian Consulting assisted the client in resolving several deal emergencies, and finally reached the strategic expectations with an ideal purchase price and deal structure.

The Target Company of the transaction, Paion AG, is a specialty pharmaceutical company with innovative drugs to be used in hospital-based sedation, anesthesia and critical care services. The lead product, Byfavo® (Remimazolam), is an intravenous, ultra-short-acting and controllable benzodiazepine sedative/anesthetic approved for surgical sedation in the USA, the EU/EEA/UK, China and South Korea, and for general anesthesia in the EU/EEA, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea, which is considered to be a unique and innovative in the global anesthetics market for the past three decades. In addition, PAION markets two critical care products in selected European countries: Angiotensin II (GIAPREZA), a vasoconstrictor indicated for the treatment of refractory hypotension in adults with septic or other distributive shock; and eravacycline (XERAVA), a novel fluorocycline type of antibiotic indicated for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections in adults. The company is headquartered in Aachen, Germany, and is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

The Buyer, Humanwell Healthcare (Group) Co., Ltd (“Humanwell Healthcare”) was established in 1993, with pharmaceutical industry as its main focus, has realized the production capacity of all dosage form including pharmaceutical intermediates, APIs, pharmaceutical excipients and pharmaceutical preparations; meanwhile, with pharmaceutical business as supplement, adhering to the positioning of "comprehensive medical service provider", has realized lay out of commercial network and full regional coverage. The company has established a leadership or leading position in a number of domestic segments such as narcotic drugs, steroidal hormone drugs and Uyghur ethnic drugs. Humanwell Healthcare was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in June 1997 (stock code: 600079). Humanwell generated a revenue of 22.338 bn CNY and net profit attributable to the parent company of 2.484 bn CNY in 2022.