Dutch chemical group Akzo Nobel and U.S. drug maker Pfizer said on Tuesday they will stop joint development of the schizophrenia drug asenapine seen as a key factor in the planned flotation of Akzo's pharmaceuticals unit.
Akzo said that it remained "fully committed" to the initial public offering process of its pharmaceuticals and veterinary unit Organon, but did not rule out the possibility of an outright sale of the business.
The two companies said Pfizer withdrew from the deal due to "commercial considerations" and Akzo said that the Organon BioSciences pharmaceuticals unit would continue to develop the drug asenapine alone.
Asenapine had been expected to become the first billion-dollar blockbuster drug for the Organon BioSciences unit, which was expected to float before early 2007 with a valuation of between 8 billion and 9 billion euros ($10.5 billion-$11.8 billion).
"We are fully committed to the IPO process," Organon President Toon Wilderbeek told reporters on a conference call, adding that the company would also consider finding a new development and marketing partner for asenapine.
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