Recordati to Acquire EUSA Pharma for $847 Million to Expand Rare Disease Offerings

Italian pharmaceutical company Recordati has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire EUSA Pharma, a global specialty pharmaceutical company focused on rare and niche oncology diseases and controlled by funds managed by EW Healthcare Partners, for an enterprise value of $847 million (€750 million).

Photo: Andrea Recordati, chairman of Recordati

“We believe that the EUSA Pharma acquisition represents an excellent opportunity to further expand and reinforce our portfolio in a new and underserved therapeutic area, rare and niche oncology, with high potential growth products and will provide a platform for potential further future expansion in these areas,” said Andrea Recordati, chairman of Recordati. “This is another important step forward in delivering on our strategy to increase our presence in the rare disease segment and to fulfil our mission to improve the lives of patients, delivering innovative treatments that address serious unmet medical needs.”

The deal adds EUSA Pharma’s four rare and niche oncology products, extensive commercial operations in the EMEA and United States, and a presence in other international markets. EUSA Pharma’s products include: Qarziba, an anti-GD2 monoclonal antibody indicated for high-risk neuroblastoma approved in Europe and other countries, and with potential for expansion in the U.S.; Sylvant, an anti-IL-6 monoclonal antibody, the first and only ever approved treatment for Idiopathic Multicentric Castleman’s disease (iMCD) in the United States and in Europe; Fotivda, an oral highly selective small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1,2 and 3, approved for first-line treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma in Europe and other countries; and Caphosol, a medical device for oral mucositis due to chemo and radio therapy, approved in the United States, European Union, and other markets.

Neuroblastoma is a rare form of cancer, arising from nerve cells in various locations in the body, primarily in children aged below 10 years old. About 49 percent of neuroblastoma patients are high-risk, meaning they have the greatest likelihood of relapse during treatment. There are around 9-13 new cases per million children a year, resulting in about 600-700 new cases per year in the United States and about 1.000 new cases per year in the European Union.

Castleman’s disease (CD) describes a spectrum of rare lymph node disorder, asymptomatic in 80 percent of cases; symptomatic patients (with mild-to-severe symptoms) suffer from Multicentric CD (MCD) ‒ Idiopathic MCD (iMCD) are characterized by severe systemic symptoms, lack of disease awareness (causing misdiagnosis) and survival rate between 50-80 percent in 5 years. There are around 2-3 new cases per million people a year, resulting in about 700-1,000 new cases per year in the United States and about 900-1,400 new cases per year in the European Union.

Author: Rare Daily Staff