Novo Holdings and Gurnet Point have added antibiotics maker Paratek Pharma to their fold in a biopharma M&A deal worth approximately $462 million.
The two investment firms will snap up all outstanding Paratek sales for $2.15 in cash plus a contingent value right (CVR) of $0.85 per share payable when Paratek's Nuzyra reaches $320 million in U.S. sales. The drug is Paratek's key selling point, treating community-acquired bacterial pneumonia and certain skin infections.
The CVR excludes some deductions including certain royalty revenues and government payments but has a deadline of Dec. 31, 2026.
The per-share payment represents a 41% premium over the closing price of Paratek’s common stock on May 31, which marked the last full trading day prior to market speculation of the potential sale.
“Both our Board of Directors and our management team are proud of Paratek's accomplishments with Nuzyra and look forward to Gurnet Point and Novo Holdings continuing to deliver upon our goal of providing life-saving, transformative therapies to patients,” Paratek CEO Evan Loh, M.D., said in the company’s statement.
As for Gurnet Point, the healthcare investment firm sees an “attractive opportunity to invest in and accelerate the commercialization of Nuzyra” plus build a “portfolio of additional value-creating assets” to address unmet medical needs, partner Stacey Seltzer said in a statement. Gurnet was co-founded by current Biogen CEO and former Sanofi chief Christopher Viehbacher, who worked at the company for seven years before moving on.
Novo Holdings, for its part, is “thrilled” to team up with Gurnet to build on Paratek’s Nuzyra progress, Partner Aleks Engel added.
Boston-based Paratek is focused on combating antimicrobial resistance, something Novo is “committed to tackling” as well, Engel pointed out.
The transaction is expected to close during this year's third quarter.
Nuzyra won FDA approval in 2018 and pulled down 2022 sales of $136.8 million. At the time of Nuzyra’s approval, Leerink analysts pegged the drug's peak sales opportunity at more than $500 million.