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Mallinckrodt Plc, a leading specialty biopharmaceutical company, has signed an agreement to buy the US-based Therakos Inc, a leading immunotherapy company, from the Gores Group (a global investment firm) in a transaction valued at approximately $1.325 billion.
Therakos Inc, the global leader in autologous immune cell therapy delivered through extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP), focuses on providing innovative treatment platforms that harness the power of patients' immune systems to fight disease. Therakos Photopheresis is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the palliative treatment of the skin manifestations of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) in persons who have not been responsive to other forms of treatment. Outside the US, Therakos Photopheresis is also broadly approved for ECP, and used by physicians in countries around the world in immune-modulating applications in a variety of conditions including CTCL, Graft Versus Host Disease, Crohn's disease, solid organ transplants and other diseases.
Therakos therapeutic platforms, including the latest generation Therakos Cellex Photopheresis System, are the world's only approved, fully integrated systems for administering autologous immune cell therapy through ECP. Used by academic medical centres, hospitals and treatment centres in more than 25 countries, Therakos systems have been used to deliver over one million photopheresis treatments globally.
"This transaction demonstrates our ongoing commitment to building a strong, highly profitable Hospital growth business as we build and diversify Mallinckrodt's specialty brands portfolio. We believe we will be able to unlock untapped value in Therakos – making ECP treatment accessible to more patients in more hospitals by applying some of the innovative contract, service and customer intimacy principles that have been so successful with our Inomax (nitric oxide) for inhalation. With this expansion into immunotherapy we add to our footprint of nuclear medicine, pain management, and respiratory neonatal critical care, broadening our touch points in hospitals and further expanding our portfolio with innovative therapies,” said Mark Trudeau, president and CEO of Mallinckrodt.
