EUSA Pharma to Acquire Castleman’s Disease Drug from Janssen Sciences Ireland for $115M

Rare Daily Staff

EUSA Pharma it has agreed to pay Janssen Sciences Ireland UC $115 million to acquire the global rights to Sylvant, a treatment of idiopathic multicentric Castleman’s disease, a rare, life-threatening condition.

Idiopathic MCD is an inflammatory lymphoproliferative disorder that causes  abnormal overgrowth of immune cells and shares many symptomatic and histological features with lymphoma. The disease can affect individuals at any age, with iMCD representing one-third to half of all multicentric Castleman’s disease. Symptoms of the condition include fever, night sweats, fatigue, weight loss, lymphadenopathy, anemia, flu-like symptoms, and multiple organ system failure.  There is significant overlap in symptoms with other conditions, such as lymphoma and autoimmune disorders, and patients are often misdiagnosed.

Sylvant is a monoclonal antibody that blocks the action of interleukin-6, a multifunctional cytokine detected at elevated levels in patients with iMCD. Although the cause is unknown, the dysregulated production of IL-6 plays a key role in the pathophysiology of the disease.

Sylvant is approved in more than 40 countries worldwide, including the United States, the European Union, the Republic of Korea, and Canada, for the treatment of iMCD.

The acquisition of Sylvant follow EUSA’s divestment of its critical care portfolio and its decision to focus solely on oncology and rare disease.

“The acquisition of Sylvant represents a significant opportunity for EUSA Pharma,” said Lee Morley, EUSA Pharma’s CEO. “Sylvant is a perfect fit with our ambitious plans to roll out innovative biopharmaceutical treatments to serve the oncology and rare disease community worldwide.”

July 19, 2018
Photo: Lee Moreley, CEO of EUSA Pharmaceuticals