(OTTAWA) – October 7, 2014
Export Development Canada (EDC) today announced financing for Toronto-based Merus Labs for their acquisition of an established pharmaceutical product in several European countries.
EDC is Canada’s leading provider of financing and insurance for small Canadian businesses with sales or business in other countries.
The financing was used to purchase the European rights to Sintrom, an anticoagulant for the treatment and prevention of clotting disorders, from the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG.
EDC’s loan is part of a larger CAD 80 M financing facility arranged by BMO along with banking partner CIT.
“Canada’s biotech and life sciences clusters are increasingly active as foreign buyers and investors, and EDC has evolved some of our financing products to meet the unique needs of Canadian companies looking to grow in this lucrative niche,” said Carl Burlock, Senior Vice-President, Financing and Investments, EDC.
EDC has seen a marked increase in the export potential for Canada’s biotech and life sciences companies in the past 5 years. Revenues in this industry are heavily dependent on exports directly from Canada and from sales of foreign affiliates. As a result, EDC has been working with industry leaders and associations to identify the right kind of financial products and services needed for them to compete and win abroad.
“Cash flow financing is a critical tool for Canadian companies purchasing rights or intellectual property, which prompted us to get comfortable with this kind of lending, and to do it quickly,” added Burlock. “EDC now has the ability to meet their needs. If this sounds like something your company is looking at, give us a call, EDC is here to help.”
EDC is also looking to help Canadian companies grow their international business opportunities in related sectors like medical devices, e-health, and mobile health. In addition, EDC is looking to leverage Canadian infrastructure capabilities to pair up with companies in Canada’s broader healthcare sector and identifying opportunities for turnkey solutions bids for foreign hospital and clinic projects.
In 2013, more than 145 companies in the Canadian life sciences and healthcare sectors used EDC’s products and services to finance and insure close to CAD 1 B of their foreign contracts and business.
Canadian companies with similar needs can call 1-888-434-8508.
EDC is Canada’s export credit agency, providing financing and insurance solutions locally and around the world to help Canadian companies of any size respond to international business opportunities. As a profitable Crown corporation that operates on commercial principles, EDC works together with private- and public- sector financial institutions to create greater capacity for Canadian companies to engage in trade and investment.
For more information about how EDC can help your company, visit www.edc.ca.
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Phil Taylor Export Development Canada
(613) 598-2904
ptaylor@edc.ca
