Drugmakers large and small have struck asset sales in recent years, and now Japanese specialty pharma firm Kyowa Kirin may join the trend.
The company is considering the divestment of certain assets from its Kyowa Kirin International unit, sources close to the matter told Bloomberg. The sale would include more “established and mature products,” according to the news organization. Deliberations are preliminary and a company representative told Bloomberg that nothing has been decided yet.
The assets under consideration have not been revealed, and the company is reportedly working with a financial advisor to explore the potential sale.
Kyowa Kirin is owned by Kirin Holdings, a massive business that engages in the beverage as well as the pharmaceutical industries. Kirin Holdings owns about 54% of Kyowa Kirin shares.
The price tag of the possible sale resembles a Teva asset sale in 2017, when the company unloaded its Paragard intrauterine copper contraceptive to CooperSurgical for $1.1 billion in cash. Elsewhere, AstraZeneca has been busy with asset sales in recent years, and Sanofi recently sold rights to cancer drug Libtayo to its partner Regeneron for $900 million.