Evonik has signed an agreement to buy Durect Corp.’s Lactel Absorbable Polymer line, which is based in Birmingham.
Evonik will pay Durect $15 million, plus an additional potential payment based on a full-year’s EBITDAS (net income before income taxes, interest income, depreciation and amortization, and stock-based compensation) results. Evonik will make employment offers to all of Durect’s employees in Birmingham associated with the Lactel business line.
“It has been a pleasure working with the highly motivated and talented Lactel team,” said James E. Brown, president and CEO of Durect. “We have confidence that Evonik will apply its resources and commitment to excellence to enable the Lactel product line and supporting team members to thrive. This deal makes strategic sense for Durect as we continue to focus on epigenetic regulation and the development of DUR-928 for alcohol-associated hepatitis and other acute organ injury and chronic liver diseases. We wish all of our Lactel colleagues the very best going forward.”
Durect Corp. is based in Cupertino, California. Evonik, based in Germany, is a global leader in specialty chemicals.
