Based in Baarn, Covis is involved in the marketing and distribution of branded pharma products for the treatment of chronic and serious medical issues.
The company supplies products for different therapeutic applications, including respiratory, cardiovascular, gastroenterology and central nervous system diseases.
Covis Pharma CEO Michael Porter said: “We are pleased to announce this strategic investment from Apollo. This transaction facilitates the execution of our collective vision to further build out our respiratory continuum of care for our patients, accelerate our global expansion as well as establish new therapeutic franchises.
“We look forward to accessing Apollo’s deep industry knowledge, operational expertise and integrated financial platform to drive innovation and accelerate our product pipeline.”
At the starting of this year, Covis executed an agreement with US-based drugstore-chain Walgreens to decrease the cost of Alvesco (ciclesonide) Inhalation Aerosol.
Alvesco is an inhaled anti-inflammatory maintenance therapy provided by a metered-dose inhaler to better control persistent asthma.
The company is currently providing Alvesco for zero or reduced co-pay exclusively at Walgreens’ more than 9,200 US retail pharmacy locations.
Subject to antitrust approval, the deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2020.
Rothschild & Co acted as the financial advisor to Covis and Cerberus on the deal while Dechert acted as the legal counsel to Covis and Cerberus.
Barclays acted as the financial advisor to Apollo on the deal while Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison served as the legal counsel to Apollo.
Apollo partner Samuel Feinstein said: “We are excited to work closely with Covis Pharma’s proven leadership team as they continue to develop treatments that improve patients’ lives. We see significant opportunities ahead as we pursue our shared vision of providing innovative pharmaceutical products to an even broader market.”
In December 2018, AstraZeneca completed its $350m sale of its rights to asthma drug Alvesco (ciclesonide) and nasal sprays Omnaris and Zetonna (ciclesonide) to Switzerland-based Covis Pharma.