October 2018 Healthcare Deal Spending Breaks Even

October 2018 Healthcare Deal Spending Breaks Even

Spending on healthcare deals in the month of October didn’t match the surge in deal volume (see separate post). At $9.4 billion, October 2018 posted a slight 4% gain over September, but was 25% lower than the $12.6 billion spent in October 2017. Of course, we can only go by disclosed prices, and several transactions that did not disclose financial terms would probably boost the month’s total by at least a few billion dollars. H.I.G. Capital’s acquisition of Correct Care Solutions, is a case in point. Co-owners Audax, GTCR and Frazier Healthcare sold Correct Care, which provides medical and behavioral health services for nearly 250,000 patients in 38 U.S. states and in Australia. Only... Read More »
Novartis Bags Cancer Researcher Endocyte

Novartis Bags Cancer Researcher Endocyte

With little fanfare, Swiss drug maker Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS) bagged Endocyte, Inc. (NASDAQ: ECYT) for $2.1 billion, or $24.00 per share. The price represents a 54% premium to Endocyte’s closing price on October 17, 2018, the day before this deal was announced. Endocyte, a biopharmaceutical company based in Indiana, develops targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases. The company uses drug conjugation technology to develop targeted therapies with companion imaging agents, including one that is a potential first-in-class investigational radioligand therapy (RLT) for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. It’s currently in... Read More »