A decades-old, relatively unknown private biotech focused on iron deficiency is buying a commercial-stage oncology company nestled in North Carolina.
Holbæk, Denmark-headquartered Pharmacosmos will acquire Research Triangle Park-based G1 Therapeutics in cash at a total equity value of about $405 million, the companies said Wednesday morning. It marks at least the fifth buyout of a commercial-stage drugmaker this year, following deals from Collegium, Asahi Kasei, Ono and Sun Pharma.
The move comes two months after G1 Therapeutics’ lung cancer drug Cosela failed in a Phase 3 breast cancer study, leading to layoffs and a stock dip. Last year, the company also laid off 30% of its workforce after delaying a readout and dropping a late-stage study of the CDK4/6 inhibitor in colorectal cancer.
For the 59-year-old Pharmacosmos, it marks the second acquisition this decade. In 2021, the family-owned company bought Boston-based AbFero Pharmaceuticals for up to $225 million to get access to a clinical-stage iron overload drug developer. Pharmacosmos had more than 500 employees in eight countries at the time Tobias Christensen, grandson of founder Henry Marinus Christensen, took over as CEO in 2022.
Pharmacosmos is focused on human and veterinary iron products and carbohydrates for various applications. It started as an API manufacturer but has multiple products now approved, including an FDA approval for its injection in iron deficiency anemia in January 2020. It’s run into competition issues with CSL Vifor.
Meanwhile, about a year later, G1 Therapeutics snagged FDA approval for its own medicine, marketed as Cosela, for reducing the frequency of chemotherapy-induced bone marrow suppression for adults with certain stages of small cell lung cancer. Also known as trilaciclib, the drug is going through a Phase 2 in combination with a TROP2 antibody-drug conjugate and other studies. Cosela reeled in $14.1 million in first-quarter sales, G1 said on May 1. At the time, the company projected full-year Cosela sales of $60 million to $70 million.
Jack Bailey“G1 and Pharmacosmos have a shared commitment to people living with cancer; the transaction announced today will enable a more rapid uptake of COSELA into the ES-SCLC market to maximize availability for patients who need this important drug,” G1 CEO Jack Bailey said in a statement.
Simcere Zaiming markets Cosela in China, the only other country in which the drug is approved. Pharmacosmos set up a subsidiary in Beijing in 2020. It also has subsidiaries in New Jersey, Germany, the UK and elsewhere.
“It will be a focus for us to bring this important product to more patients both in the US and worldwide to help minimize the number of lung cancer patients suffering from myelosuppression after chemotherapy,” said Christensen, the president and CEO of Pharmacosmos, in a statement.
The deal comes in at $7.15 per share. G1’s shares $GTHX were up more than 65% in pre-market trading to about $7.05 apiece. It is expected to close “late in the third quarter,” the companies said.
