American-based specialty pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt has undertaken the divestment of the photopheresis segment, Therakos, to global private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for $925 million.
Mallinckrodt, which produces both branded and generic drugs, acquired Therakos in June 2015 for approximately $1.33 billion. The company has stated that its relationship with CVC will enable it to reduce its debts by over 50% through the use of the net proceeds.
As per the agreement, the employees associated with the Therakos business will follow the company and continue providing support to the product and stakeholders, as mentioned in the company’s press release. The measure is expected to be completed in the current fourth quarter. Extracorporeal photopheresis was purchased by Mallinckrodt nine years ago for entry into immunotherapy through this drug-device system and to increase its presence in hospitals.
Therakos is a completely closed and integrated ECP delivery system referring to autologous immunomodulatory therapy. Having obtained regulatory approval in the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia, and Latin America, the drug-device system is utilized in the treatment of various immune diseases.
In the medium- to long-term, CVC aims to expand and improve Therakos and its primary product, the Therakos Cellex system. The current plan is to invest more in R&D, indication expansion, and geographic diversification.
In October 2020, Mallinckrodt agreed to a $1.6 billion settlement with 47 states and territories. It also agreed to pay the U.S. government $260 million to vacate a claim that it short-changed rebates on Acthar Gel, a hormone treatment used to reduce inflammation.
Due to legal and financial issues, Mallinckrodt had to declare bankruptcy. It managed to gain consent from creditors in September 2021 that would eliminate about $1.3 billion from the company’s liabilities.
Mallinckrodt again faced the need for bankruptcy in August 2023 due to decreasing sales and revenues of several products. It emerged from bankruptcy in November of that year, noting that it had cut total funded debts by $1.9 billion.
Looking through a vast array of Mallinckrodt’s internal documents, two reporters identified many actions the pharma allegedly took to influence doctors to start prescribing opioids.
Over the past ten years, Mallinckrodt has been a defendant in tens of thousands of cases claiming that it flooded the market with opioids and used deceptive practices to sell them. The company has maintained its innocence and denied any legal misconduct, but due to the liabilities incurred in the form of settlements and fines, it was declared bankrupt twice, in 2020 and 2023.
