How adding Concert Pharmaceuticals to Sun Pharma's pipeline can help with specialties

With the purchase of US-based Concert Pharmaceuticals for $576 million in cash, prominent global pharmaceutical company Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited's speciality pipeline is anticipated to gain new momentum. The acquisition, according to Sun Pharma, is intended to gain access to Concert's investigational medication Deuxolitinib, which may be used to treat Alopecia Areata, a skin condition that results in partial or full hair loss on the scalp and body.

The primary product candidate of Concert Pharmaceuticals, deuruxolitinib, is in the last stages of development and is now undergoing clinical trials in North America and Europe. In the first half of 2023, Concert intends to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) to the FDA in the United States.

Alopecia Areata affects about 2.5% of people in the United States and the world during the course of their lifetime, yet there are currently few therapeutic options available. In the US, Sun Pharma already has a successful speciality business. By introducing a late-stage medicine in a market with a high unmet need, the move will boost Sun Pharma's global dermatological portfolio in line with its inorganic growth strategy. To position itself as a leading global partner for the development and promotion of these therapies, Sun Pharma is building a global dermatological and ophthalmology franchise. According to Sun Pharma CEO, the Concert acquisition has made deuruxolitinib, a late-stage medication that may be best-in-class for treating alopecia areata, available. "There is a sizable unmet need in the Alopecia Areata area, and we intend to expand on Concert's dedication to helping the patient group with Alopecia Areata. We are in a good position to successfully launch this product on the international market, added Gandhi. The definitive agreement states that Concert stockholders will also be given a non-tradeable contingent value right (CVR), which will entitle them to an additional $3.50 per share of common stock in cash, subject to certain terms and conditions, upon deuruxolitinib reaching specific net sales milestones within predetermined time frames. The purchase is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2023, according to Sun Pharma.

Concert reported total sales of $29 thousand for the nine months that ended in September 2022 and a net loss of $90.6 million. For those nine months, R&D costs came to $75.7 million. Sun Pharma has engaged in at least 20 mergers and acquisitions over the past ten years. For instance, Sun purchased Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd in 2010 to gain access to the dermatology generics portfolio through production facilities in Israel and Canada. In order to gain access to specialty drug-device combinations in the US dermatology market, the business bought DUSA Pharma in 2012.

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