Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals to acquire Therakos for US$1.3bn
Expanding its presence in hospitals
Mallinckrodt, a US-based speciality biopharmaceutical company is to buy immunotherapy company Therakos from the US private equity firm Gores Group for about US$1.3bn, expanding its presence in hospitals.
Therakos is focused on autologous immune cell therapies delivered using a process called extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP).
The company's flagship device, Cellex, is approved by the US FDA for the palliative treatment of the skin manifestations of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) in patients who have not been responsive to other forms of treatment. Outside the US it is used by physicians in a variety of conditions including Crohn's disease.
Cellex has been installed in more than 350 academic medical centres and hospitals in 25 countries worldwide and Mallinckrodt believes it has 'significant potential value in a variety of complex disease states and conditions'.
'This transaction demonstrates our ongoing commitment to building a strong, highly profitable hospital growth business as we build and diversify Mallinckrodt's Speciality Brands portfolio,' said Mark Trudeau, President and Chief Executive of Mallinckrodt. 'With this expansion into immunotherapy we add to our footprint of nuclear medicine, pain management, and respiratory neonatal critical care, broadening our touch points in hospitals and further expanding our portfolio with innovative therapies.'
The Gores Group, headquartered in Los Angeles, US, acquired Therakos from Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, a former subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, for an undisclosed amount in December 2012.
Completion of the deal is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions and is expected to be concluded in the third quarter of 2015.
