Boston Scientific Divests BTG Specialty Pharmaceuticals Business
In November 2018, Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) purchased BTG plc for $4.8 billion, according to search results in our Healthcare Deal Database. BTG develops and commercializes products used in minimally-invasive procedures targeting cancer and vascular diseases. However, the company also had an acute care pharmaceutical division, which based on recent deal activity, it seemed the medical device giant wasn’t too interested in holding onto the non-medical device portions of BTG. In the fourth quarter of 2019, Boston Scientific sold the pharmaceutical licensing royalties unit of BTG, and last week, the company announced the second divestment. Boston Scientific is selling... Read More »
Trulieve Cannabis Boosts Its Market Reach
Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (OTC: TCNNF), a vertically integrated “seed-to-sale” company and the first licensed medical cannabis company in the state of Florida, announced two new transactions last week. M&A activity in the medical marijuana market has been quiet throughout 2020 and 2019, after experiencing somewhat of a boom in 2018, but Trulieve Cannabis’ new deals might signal another resurgence. The company purchased Pennsylvania-based PurePenn LLC, which produces pharmaceutical-grade medical marijuana products, including concentrates, flower, oil, capsules and tinctures, and Keystone Relief Centers LLC (dba Solevo Wellness), which owns and operates three medical... Read More »
JNJ Announces Multibillion-Dollar Takeover of Momenta
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) made a splash in the healthcare M&A market last week with its acquisition of Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTA). The global pharmaceutical giant announced on August 19 it is paying $6.5 billion in cash, or $52.50 per share, for Momenta, a 70.4% premium over Momenta’s August 18 closing price. Momenta reported a trailing 12-month revenue of $30.07 million. On the day of the announcement, Momenta’s share price jumped 69%. This acquisition provides an opportunity for the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of JNJ to broaden its market reach in immune-mediated diseases and drive further growth through expansion into autoantibody-driven... Read More »
Sanofi Pasteur Jumps Into the COVID-19 Vaccine Race
Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine division of Sanofi (NYSE: SNY) has expanded its partnership with Translate Bio (NASDAQ: TBIO ) to produce a COVID-19 vaccine. The two companies are pursuing novel mRNA vaccines aimed at broadly addressing current and future infectious diseases, evaluating multiple COVID-19 vaccine candidates. They hope to conduct human clinical trials in Q4:2020 but are also advancing an mRNA vaccine development candidate against influenza through preclinical studies with clinical trial initiation anticipated in mid-year 2021. The original agreement dates back to 2018, when Translate Bio and Sanofi Pasteur entered into a collaboration and exclusive license agreement to develop... Read More »
Takeda Makes Another Divestment
In another sale to lighten its portfolio, Takeda Pharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS: TKPHF) has announced the divestiture of 18 prescription and over-the-counter brands. Celltrion (KRX:068270), a South Korean-based biotechnology company, purchased the assets for $278.3 million. The assets are distributed in a number of markets in the Asian-Pacific region, including South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia. The assets from Takeda in the deal grossed a combined sale of approximately $140 million in 2018. The portfolio includes Nesina and Actos (both for diabetes), Edarbi (hypertension), and well-known OTC products. Nesina and Edarbi are... Read More »