New York-based biopharm co. to move to Del.

WILMINGTON – A small New York-based biopharmaceutical maker is planning to move its operations to Delaware this spring, according to a federal filing.

Biospecifics Technologies Corp., which is currently based in Long Island, New York, filed an 8-K form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Jan. 6 notifying authorities that it planned to move to the Delaware Corporate Center II off U.S. 202 in April.

The company develops injectable enzymes that break down collagen, a fibrous protein that can build up and cause debilitating conditions. It receives royalties from licensing agreements on its product Xiaflex with Ireland-based, international pharmaceutical maker Endo International PLC.

“In light of the new management appointments … the Board determined that relocating the Company’s headquarters to Delaware was in the best interest of the Company,” the company reported to the SEC.

Biospecifics Technologies Corp. will move into a space at Delaware Corporate Center II in north Wilmington in April. | Photo courtesy of Loopnet

The company is incorporated in Delaware, but otherwise few details about its decision to relocate here have been made public. Neither of its most recent executive hires have apparent ties to the state.

The 30-year-old company will break its lease in New York, where it has been headquartered since at least 2013, effective April 7, officials reported.

Biospecifics reportedly signed a three-year lease for the space located at 2 Righter Parkway, with annual rent moving from $82,420 in the first year to $87,428 in the last. It has two consecutive, three-year renewal options. With a recently advertised rate of about $27 per square foot in the Delaware Corporate Center II, Biospecifics is likely leasing about 3,000 square feet of space.

Buccini/Pollin Group owns the Delaware Corporate Center II through a subsidiary entity, 2 Righter LLC.

The move to Delaware is just the latest change for the small company, after its president, Thomas L. Wegman, passed in March 2019 after battling glioblastoma. In October, it named J. Kevin Buchi as its new CEO and it hired Patrick C. Hutchinson as chief financial officer on Jan. 6.

Prior to his hiring, Buchi, 64, served as interim president and CEO of Impax Laboratories LLC, a public generics and specialty pharmaceutical company. Prior to that, he served as president and CEO of TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals Corp., a public biotech company; corporate vice president of global branded products at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, a multinational pharmaceutical company; and CEO of Cephalon Inc., an international biopharmaceutical company that was acquired by Teva in October 2011.

Hutchinson, 61, most recently served as CFO of SwanBio Therapeutics, a private gene therapy biotech company, on a part-time basis from April 2019 through December 2019. Prior to that, he served in leadership positions at TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals and Cephalon Inc. alongside Buchi. Hutchinson also spent time at Teleflex Inc., a public specialty medical device provider.

The hiring of Hutchinson also led to Biospecific’s termination of Patrick Caldwell, who was serving as the company’s interim principal financial officer on a consultancy basis, effective March 31.

Biospecifics Technologies Corp. reported assets of about $118.5 million as of Sept. 30, and operating revenue of more than $19 million through the first three quarters of 2019. Its stock, traded as BSTC, fell about 3.5% to $54.64 a share following the news of the move.

By Jacob Owens

jowens@delawarebusinesstimes.com