Business Wire

Juvisé Pharmaceuticals Acquires Multiple Sclerosis Drug PONVORY® (ex-US/Canada) and Opens Its Capital to Bpifrance and Pemberton

26.3.2024 17:09:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release

Share

The French pharmaceutical company, Juvisé Pharmaceuticals, announces the acquisition of global commercial rights (excluding the United States and Canada) to Ponvory® (ponesimod) from Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a Johnson & Johnson Company (Johnson & Johnson). Ponvory® is indicated for the treatment of adults with active forms of relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS); it is protected by several patents, the latest of which expires in 2035. To fund this acquisition, the French sovereign fund Bpifrance and Pemberton Asset Management (‘Pemberton’), a leading European private credit manager, have acquired a minority stake in Juvisé Pharmaceuticals. Financial details of these transactions remain undisclosed.

We are very excited about Ponvory® and its potential to have a very positive impact on the lives of patients with multiple sclerosis” announces Frédéric Mascha, founder and President of Juvisé Pharmaceuticals. This acquisition is a strategic step for Juvisé as it expands our portfolio with the first patent protected product with strong development potential over the coming years. It is in line with what we have been doing for the past 16 years, which is providing essential medications to patients and specialist doctors. Following our latest partnerships established with Novartis, AstraZeneca and AbbVie, we are proud to establish a new partnership with a major pharmaceutical company and to have two strong partners such as Bpifrance and Pemberton enter our capital to support our future growth.”

The acquisition of Ponvory®: a strategic move in Juvisé Pharmaceuticals' growth strategy

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune pathology affecting over 2.5 million patients worldwide and enjoys therapeutic innovation.

Ponvory® (ponesimod) is a first-line treatment option in active forms of relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS), which is the most common form of the disease (approximately 80% of patients), affecting particularly women around the age of 30-years-old. Ponvory® is the first oral Disease Modifying Treatment (DMT) to demonstrate superior efficacy compared to teriflunomide in a large head-to-head Phase III study (OPTIMUM) in adult patients with active RMS. Ponvory® demonstrated a 30.5% reduction in Annualized Relapse Rate (primary endpoint), as well as reduction in MRI activity and fatigue (secondary endpoints). (1)

Juvisé Pharmaceuticals will leverage its expertise in medical affairs, marketing, and distribution to commercialize and develop Ponvory® outside of the United States and Canada, with a focus on Europe, skills that the company has already demonstrated with the successful European relaunch of Pylera® in 2023. Juvisé Pharmaceuticals will work closely with Johnson & Johnson to ensure a seamless transition and continuous availability of Ponvory® for patients. Ponvory® is currently available in 30 countries, with the objective of expanding this scope. Finally, Juvisé Pharmaceuticals will assume the worldwide manufacturing duties for Ponvory® from sites based in France and Switzerland.

Juvisé Pharmaceuticals opens its capital to Bpifrance and Pemberton

The acquisition of Ponvory® is funded by a mix of capital increase, additional debt, and shareholder loan.

Bpifrance, the French sovereign fund financing businesses in their development, and Pemberton, a leading European private credit manager, have acquired a minority stake in Juvisé as part of the transaction.

About Juvisé Pharmaceuticals

Since its creation in 2008, Juvisé Pharmaceuticals has played a pivotal role in enhancing patient care by providing access to treatments with high medical value. Juvisé re-prioritized essential medicines in oncology (breast and prostate cancer), cardiology, gastroenterology, neuropsychiatry, and rheumatology, making them accessible to over 4.4 million patients every year. Juvisé Pharmaceuticals is present through its products in 80 countries in the world on five continents and relocates the production of its acquired medications in Europe, with 81% being manufactured in Europe and 51% in France. In 2024, Juvisé Pharmaceuticals revenues are expected to reach about 180M€ (+38% vs 2023) with PONVORY® accounting for about 24%.

For more information, visit www.juvisepharmaceuticals.com

Lazard acted as financial advisor to Juvisé Pharmaceuticals and its shareholders.

Bird & Bird, Latham & Watkins and Bredin Prat acted as legal counsel to Juvisé Pharmaceuticals.

Société Générale remains the lead banking partner for Juvisé Pharmaceuticals.

1. Kappos L, Fox RJ, Burcklen M, Freedman MS, Havrdová EK, Hennessy B, Hohlfeld R, Lublin F, Montalban X, Pozzilli C, Scherz T, D'Ambrosio D, Linscheid P, Vaclavkova A, Pirozek-Lawniczek M, Kracker H, Sprenger T. Ponesimod Compared With Teriflunomide in Patients With Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis in the Active-Comparator Phase 3 OPTIMUM Study: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Neurol. 2021 May 1;78(5):558-567. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2021.0405. PMID: 33779698; PMCID: PMC8008435

To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.

Contact information

Juvisé Corporate communication contact
Caroline Tranvouez
Chief of staff to the CEO
+33 6 65 20 15 74
caroline.tranvouez@juvise.com

Media Relations contact
Nicolas Delaval
CLAI agency
+33 6 58 29 21 15
juvise@clai2.com

About Business Wire

For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.

Subscribe to releases from Business Wire

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Business Wire

Armis Centrix™ Named “Best Solution” for Cyber Exposure Management as Armis Wins Multiple Global InfoSec Awards at RSAC 202623.3.2026 18:00:00 EET | Press release

Armis, the cyber exposure management & security company, today announced that it has won multiple Global InfoSec Awards from Cyber Defense Magazine at this year’s RSAC™ Conference. Armis received the following accolades: Armis Centrix™ won “Best Solution” for Cyber Exposure Management Armis named “Publisher’s Choice Cybersecurity Company” Yevgeny Dibrov, Armis’ CEO and Co-Founder, awarded “Industry Pioneering CEO” “We cannot safeguard modern infrastructure with yesterday’s tactics; the extended attack surface demands a unified, AI-driven approach that sees, protects and manages all assets (IT, OT, IoT, IoMT, applications, code, cloud and AI) in real time,” said Yevgeny Dibrov, CEO and Co-Founder of Armis. “Armis secures the most complex environments of organizations and governments worldwide to protect society from the destruction cybercriminals seek to cause. These awards reinforce our dedication to fundamentally redefining cyber exposure management for the era of hyper-connectivity.”

STOKR Appoints Subhankar Sinha as Senior Advisor23.3.2026 16:00:00 EET | Press release

STOKR has appointed Subhankar Sinha as Senior Advisor. Sinha will work directly with STOKR's leadership team on fund tokenization with particular focus on money market fund (MMF) tokenization and on expanding STOKR's institutional presence in the U.S. market. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260323315236/en/ Image, Subhankar Sinha A New York-based digital assets executive, Sinha brings deep expertise across blockchain infrastructure, capital markets, and institutional business development. He previously served as Head of Blockchain at BNY, the world's largest custody and asset servicing business. Earlier in his career, he was a Director at PwC, where he co-founded and co-led the firm's blockchain consulting practice in the U.S. "Subhankar brings the institutional depth that this stage of STOKR's growth demands," said Arnab Naskar, Co-Founder of STOKR. "His experience leading blockchain at BNY and co-building Pw

Exein Unveils Next-Generation Runtime Security to Protect the AI-Native World23.3.2026 15:00:00 EET | Press release

Exein, the global leader in runtime cybersecurity, today unveiled Photon, a preemptive breakthrough solution that blocks cyberattacks at the point of execution. Designed for the AI-native world - where digital and physical systems are now inseparable - Photon marks a fundamental shift in how critical infrastructure protects itself. Unlike traditional cybersecurity solutions that detect threats after compromise - typically operating in user space and relying on a cloud network - Exein’s Photon operates directly inside the kernel, preventing malicious execution paths before they can run. By blocking attacks before the point of execution, the technology dramatically reduces latency and eliminates entire classes of threats before damage occurs. If malicious instructions cannot execute, the attack itself cannot take place. This advancement establishes a new category of runtime security designed for systems that cannot be disconnected: physical AI and IoT environments, autonomous AI agents,

Xsolla Partners With Cyprus Game Makers Association (CYGMA) as the Island Emerges as a Game Development Hub23.3.2026 15:00:00 EET | Press release

Xsolla, a global video game commerce company that helps developers launch, grow, and monetize their games, today announced a strategic partnership with the Cyprus Game Makers Association (CYGMA). The collaboration will provide creators and studios within the CYGMA network with hands-on support, industry expertise, and access to world-class commerce tools, helping Cyprus-based studios bring their titles to players worldwide. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260323570679/en/ Graphic: Xsolla The partnership comes as Cyprus continues to attract game development talent, fueled by favorable business conditions and a growing creative community. Through its collaboration with CYGMA, Xsolla aims to accelerate momentum and expand opportunities for developers by removing commerce and distribution barriers that often prevent emerging studios from reaching global markets. As part of the agreement, Xsolla will sponsor a seri

Manhattan Associates’ 2026 Unified Commerce Benchmark Reveals the High Price of Standing Still in Retail23.3.2026 14:30:00 EET | Press release

Manhattan Associates Inc. (NASDAQ: MANH), today announced the findings of its 2026 Global Unified Commerce Benchmark for Specialty Retail, the industry’s most comprehensive assessment of how well retailers connect digital and physical experiences to drive growth, profitability and loyalty. Conducted by Incisiv, a leading retail research firm, the Benchmark is based on real-world purchases and returns. It analyzes more than 400 specialty retailers across EMEA, LATAM and North America on 330 capabilities spanning four key experience areas: Shopping, Checkout, Fulfillment, and Service. The 2026 Benchmark reveals that while the industry has made steady progress in unified commerce maturity since 2023 when it was first launched, only 7% of retailers have achieved true unified commerce leadership while 33% are still stuck in the Basic category. Leaders are translating connected, data‑driven yet customer-centric experiences into nearly 2X higher growth rates than their basic peers. The Benchm

In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.

Visit our pressroom
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye