
Sun Pharma is betting big on speciality. Will it pay off?
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd’s latest acquisition of US-based Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc. is good news for its speciality business–an area of focus.
Checkpoint is an immunotherapy and targeted oncology company. The move will help Sun Pharma expand its portfolio of products for skin cancer within the speciality business. The key product owned by Checkpoint is Unloxcyt, a drug used to treat cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), a type of skin cancer, approved by the US FDA in December but still to be commercialised.
The product can be expected to form the basis of products for other types of cancers as well. “Unloxcyt (Cosibelimab; skin cancer) will complement its existing speciality products like Odomzo (sonidegib) and Yonsa (Abiraterone acetate) – both approved in the US, Nidlegy (awaiting approval in the EU), and the recently-acquired Fibromun (under Phase III)," wrote HDFC Securities’ analysts in a 10 March report. “The acquisition of Checkpoint is in line with Sun Pharma’s capital allocation strategy to strengthen its speciality business, with a focus on dermatology, ophthalmology, and oncology," added HDFC.
Checkpoint adds a new growth lever in Sun Pharma’s onco-dermatology segment, even as the acquisition is expected to impact earnings negatively in the initial years as the product is yet to be commercialized. The transaction is expected to close in the June quarter, paving the way for the product’s launch. Unloxcyt has not been filed in non-US markets, giving Sun Pharma an opportunity to leverage its global presence.
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