City-based firm SourceCF sold for $6.6 million

Pharmaceutical maker purchases biotech company

Huntsville-based biotech firm SourceCF has been acquired by Netherlands-based pharmaceutical maker Eurand N.V. for about $6.6 million, the companies said Monday.

SourceCF, which specializes in products serving cystic fibrosis patients, their doctors and other caregivers, has 15 employees and began here in 2001. Many of the employees had options in the company and were part of the decision to sell, said company President Michael Walters.

The deal could also include up to $3 million in additional deferred and milestone payments to SourceCF after 24 months, Eurand said in a news release.

SourceCF had revenue of $4 million in 2006. The employees will join Eurand, and the company will move into the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology.

Walters will become executive vice president of Eurand, responsible for the company's U.S. sales and marketing efforts, including the launch of Eurand's Zentase, a pancreatic enzyme treatment that can be helpful to cystic fibrosis patients.

Walters said the companies are still discussing whether SourceCF will retain its name. He said the sale to Eurand followed discussions with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which agreed that the larger resources of Eurand will better serve patient needs.

"My primary responsibility, as I see it, is to ensure support for this (cystic fibrosis) community, through our current product offering," Walters said. "The part that excites me even more is one of my charges, to go find other products that will address the unmet needs of today."

Gearoid Faherty, Eurand's CEO, rang the Nasdaq closing bell Monday on Wall Street. Faherty said the acquisition expands the company's product offerings to the U.S. cystic fibrosis community and expands its sales and marketing infrastructure.

"We are particularly pleased to have Mike Walters join Eurand to lead our commercialization efforts for Zentase in the U.S.," Faherty said. "We expect to leverage his experience and that of his team at SourceCF to support the launch of Zentase."

Eurand is publicly traded on the Nasdaq, under the ticker symbol EURX. The stock closed Monday at $15.16, up 31 cents.