Intellectual Property Law

Guilford Pharmaceuticals: Two Acquisitions in Two Years

By Brian Wm. Higgin

     Guilford Pharmaceuticals, Inc., was a well established Baltimore biotech/pharma company when it was acquired in 2005 by Minnesota-based MGI Pharma, Inc., in a deal reported to be worth about $177.5 million (announcement). After that acquisition, Guilford was renamed MGI GP, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary, to which patents being issued to the former Guilford employees in Baltimore were then assigned. Three recent MGI GP patents identify Maryland inventors: U.S. 7,307,080 ("Compounds, methods and pharmaceutical compositions for treating cellular damage, such as neural or cardiovascular tissue damage"); U.S. 7,268,138 ("Compounds, methods and pharmaceutical compositions for inhibiting PARP"); U.S. 7,247,641 ("Compounds, derivatives, compositions, preparation and uses"). Last week, it was announced that Japan's Eisai Co. was acquiring MGI Pharma for about $3.9 billion (announcement). Eisai's presence in the U.S.--Eisai Corporation of North America--is based in Woodcliff Lake, NJ.

Full post as published by Maryland Intellectual Property Law Blog on December 19, 2007 (boomark / email).