Takeda Pharmaceutical has agreed to divest a portfolio of select prescription pharmaceutical products to Cheplapharm, a specialty pharmaceutical company headquartered in Greifswald, Germany, for $562 million.

The portfolio to be divested is comprised of non-core prescription pharmaceutical products in a variety of therapeutic categories sold predominantly in Europe and Canada. They include cardiovascular/metabolic and anti-inflammatory products along with calcium. The portfolio generated fiscal year (FY) 2019 net sales of approximately $260 million.

There are no anticipated employee transfers in connection with this transaction, which is expected to close by the end of FY 2020 (ending March 2021), subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and receipt of required regulatory clearances. Until then, the products will continue to be made available to patients and manufactured and supplied by Takeda.

The move is part on an ongoing divestment program of non-core assets following Takeda’s $62-billion acquisition of Shire in January 2019. Its core four therapeutic areas are oncology, rare diseases, neuroscience, and gastroenterology with targeted R&D investments in plasma-derived therapies and vaccines. The divestments are part of a financial strategy to reduce debt and improve cash flow by reaching a target of 2x net debt/adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) within FY 2021 to 2023.

Thus far in 2020, the company has made a series of divestments. Last month (August 2020), Takeda agreed to divest Takeda Consumer Healthcare Company Limited, its over-the-counter (OTC) business in Japan, to Blackstone for approximately $2.3 billion. In June (June 2020), Takeda agreed to divest a portfolio of non-core assets sold exclusively in the Asia Pacific region to Celltrion, an Incheon, South Korea-based biopharmaceutical company, for up to $278 million. In April (April 2020), Takeda announced the sale of non-core OTC products in Europe to Orifarm Group, an Odense, Denmark-based generic-drug company, for up to approximately $670 million, including the sale of two manufacturing sites in Denmark and Poland. In March (March 2020), Takeda announced the sale of non-core products in Latin America to Hypera Pharma, a Brazilian pharmaceutical company with a position in branded prescriptions, consumer health, and branded generics, for $825 million. Also, in March 2020, Takeda completed the sales of non-core assets spanning Russia–the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to Stada, a Bad Wilben, Germany-based pharmaceutical company, and in countries spanning the Near East, Middle East and Africa region to Acino, a Basel, Switzerland-based pharmaceutical company.

Source: Takeda