Seventh pharma acquisition takes Indian firm into pain management.

Piramal Critical Care (PCC), a UK-based subsidiary of India’s Piramal Enterprises, has completed its acquisition of Mallinckrodt’s Intrathecal Therapy business. This comprises a portfolio of drugs for spasticity and pain management.

The deal was originally announced in January and is Piramal’s second buy in the field following on from following the acquisition of a portfolio of anesthesia and pain management injectable drugs from Janssen Pharmaceutica in October 2016. In all, this is Piramal’s seventh acquisition across the pharma field in the past 30 months and will take the company’s total investment in this field to about $4.6 billion.

Piramal will pay $171 million in cash to Mallinckrodt, 10% at closing the rest on the first anniversary of closing, plus up to $32 million more, depending on the gross profit of the acquired assets in 2018 and 2019. The business had revenues of $44.6 million in the year to the end of September 2016.

Most prominent in the acquired drugs is Gablofen (baclofen) for severe spasticity management of cerebral or spinal origin in adults and children over three years old. This is currently marketed in the U.S. and has been approved for launch in eight European markets. Gablofen is the only intrathecal baclofen drug available in vials and pre-filled syringes, which are increasingly preferred to ampoules, according to Piramal. Two further pain management drugs in the portfolio are under development.

“This acquisition provides Piramal a leadership position within the intrathecal spasticity segment and the opportunity to access the intrathecal pain management market, which is complementary to our critical care focus, and leverage our current operations and capabilities, especially in the U.S.,” said Peter Young, CEO of PPC. “These acquisitions add branded products that are in attractive niches with barriers to entry and limited competition.”

PCC is mostly active in inhalation anaesthetics, injectable anaesthesia and pain management products, as well as other critical care products such as plasma volume expanders. It has a presence in about 100 countries.

Mallinckrodt, meanwhile, said that the divestiture of this business is aligned with its “ongoing focus on driving return on invested capital and contributes to the strategic transformation of the company.” Mark Trudeau, President and CEO, added: “This action is another example of the strategic evolution of our portfolio, and will free resources for investing in our growth platforms in autoimmune and rare diseases and hospital therapies.”

The earlier acquisition for PCC saw five anesthesia and pain management injectable products acquired from Janssen Pharmaceutica for $155 million and up to $20 million more depending on performance over the next 30 months. They comprise the injectable versions of well-established Janssen brands that are marketed in over 50 countries: Sublimaze (fentanyl citrate), Sufenta (sufentanil citrate), Rapifen (alfentanil hydrochloride), Dipidolor (piritramide) and Hypnomidate (etomidate).

Piramal acquired the brand names and all of the related IP, including how to make the APIs and finished dosage forms. No employees or facilities changed hands. Janssen will supply the finished dosage forms for up to three years and API for up to five years, selling the products on behalf of Piramal until the Marketing Authorizations or relevant business relations were transferred.

Separately, Piramal Pharma Solutions, the pharmaceutical contract manufacturing arm of Piramal, has appointed Stuart E. Needleman as its Chief Commercial Officer, with responsibility for driving all global business development activities, from discovery services to commercial supply and in both drug substance and drug product.

A chemical engineer by training, Needleman has been active in the pharmaceutical contract services industry for some 30 years. Most recently he had been President of Laurus Synthesis, a subsidiary of another Indian company, Laurus Laboratories. Earlier, he had held roles at Cambrex, Oxford Asymmetry, ChiRex, Rhodia Pharma Solutions and Arch Pharmalabs, then was President and Chief Operating Officer of Aptuit before joining Laurus.