India’s Sun Pharmaceutical Industries on Monday said it will buy US-listed Checkpoint Therapeutics, an immunotherapy and targeted oncology company, for $355 million.
Checkpoint is a commercial-stage company focused on developing novel treatments for patients with solid tumor cancers.
The firm has received approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for its drug UNLOXCYT™ (cosibelimab-ipdl) for the treatment of adults with metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) that cannot be treated by curative surgery or radiation.
cSCC is the second-most common type of skin cancer in the United States, with an estimated annual incidence of approximately 1.8 million cases, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. While most cases are localised tumors amenable to curative resection, each year about 15,000 people in the US die from this disease.
Dilip Shanghvi, Chairman & Managing Director of Sun Pharma, believes that the acquisition bolsters its portfolio in onco-derm therapy.
“Combining UNLOXCYT… with Sun Pharma’s global presence means patients with cSCC may soon have access to an important, new treatment option,” Shanghvi said.
For the nine months ending September 2024, Checkpoint reported $0.04 million in revenue and a net loss of $27.3 million.
“The transaction will … provide accelerated access to UNLOXCYT in the United States, Europe and other markets worldwide,” said James Oliviero, President and Chief Executive Officer of Checkpoint.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the second calendar quarter of 2025. As of September 30, 2024, Checkpoint had a cash balance of $4.7 million, outstanding accounts payable and accrued expenses of $15.6 million, and outstanding accounts payable and accrued expenses – related party of $2.0 million.
According to Tracxn, Sun Pharma has completed 16 acquisitions with an average acquisition amount of $420 million. Its most active year was 2012, with 3 acquisitions, and it has averaged 1 acquisition per year over the past three years.
Checkpoint’s acquisition comes as India is seeing unprecedented demand for healthcare amid rising disposable incomes and health awareness.
