Sun Pharma to Acquire Concert Pharmaceuticals, Advancing the Potential Treatment of Alopecia Areata.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (Reuters: SUN.BO, Bloomberg: SUNP IN, NSE: SUNPHARMA, BSE: 524715 (together with its subsidiaries and/or associated companies, “Sun Pharma”)) and Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CNCE) (“Concert”) today announced that they have executed a definitive agreement under which Sun Pharma will acquire all outstanding shares of Concert through a tender offer for an upfront payment of $8.00 per share of common stock in cash, or $576 million in equity value. Concert stockholders will also receive a nontradeable contingent value right (CVR) entitling holders to receive up to an additional $3.50 per share of common stock in cash, payable upon deuruxolitinib achieving certain net sales milestones within specified periods, subject to the terms and conditions contained in a contingent value rights agreement detailing the terms of the CVRs. The transaction was approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies.
The upfront payment of $8.00 per share of common stock in cash represents a premium of approximately 33% to Concert’s 30-day volume weighted average price as of January 18, 2023, the last trading day prior to today’s announcement.
Concert is a late-stage biotechnology company pioneering the use of deuterium in medicinal chemistry. Concert has an extensive patent portfolio, including its lead product candidate deuruxolitinib – an oral inhibitor of Janus kinases JAK1 and JAK2 for the treatment of Alopecia Areata, an autoimmune dermatological disease – which is in late-stage development. Concert has completed the evaluation of the efficacy and safety of deuruxolitinib in adult patients with moderate to severe Alopecia Areata in its THRIVE-AA Phase 3 clinical program and two open label, long-term extension studies are ongoing in North America and Europe. Sun Pharma’s immediate focus would be to follow Concert’s plan to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the first half of 2023.
Alopecia Areata is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks hair follicles, resulting in partial or complete loss of hair on the scalp and body. Alopecia Areata may affect up to 2.5% of the United States and global population during their lifetime1,2,3 . The scalp is the most commonly affected area, but any hair-bearing site can be affected alone or together with the scalp. Onset of the disease can occur throughout life and affects both women and men. Alopecia Areata can be associated with serious psychological consequences, including anxiety and depression. There are currently limited treatment options available for Alopecia Areata.
“Sun Pharma is building a global Dermatology and Ophthalmology franchise and aims to be a preferred development and commercial partner in these therapies worldwide. The acquisition of Concert adds a late-stage, potential best-in-class treatment for Alopecia Areata in deuruxolitinib,” said Abhay Gandhi, CEO North America, Sun Pharma. “There is a significant unmet need in the Alopecia Areata space and we aim to build on Concert’s commitment to supporting the Alopecia Areata patient community. We are well-positioned to successfully bring this product to market globally. I look forward to welcoming the exceptionally talented Concert team who have worked tirelessly to develop the product to bring it to market.”
“We are pleased to enter into this exciting transaction with Sun Pharma, which delivers substantial value to our shareholders and is the outcome of a thorough review process overseen by the Concert Board,” stated Roger Tung, Ph.D., President and CEO of Concert. “Our mission at Concert has always been to translate innovative science to clinical solutions in order to meaningfully improve patients’ lives. We are proud to see our team’s accomplishment – creating a valuable new drug candidate for a major, underserved disease – appropriately recognized and valued by Sun Pharma as a means to expand their ongoing, international commitment to dermatology. I am confident that this transaction will maximize value for our shareholders and enhance access to deuruxolitinib for patients with Alopecia Areata.”
Transaction Terms and Timeline to Closing
Under the terms of the merger agreement, Sun Pharma will promptly commence a tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Concert common stock. Concert stockholders will be offered an upfront payment of $8.00 per share of common stock in cash. Concert’s Board of Directors unanimously recommends that Concert stockholders tender their shares in the tender offer.
Concert stockholders will also receive a non-tradeable CVR, which entitles Concert stockholders to receive up to an additional $3.50 per share of common stock in cash, payable upon deuruxolitinib achieving certain net sales milestones within specified periods, subject to the terms and conditions contained in the contingent value rights agreement detailing the terms of the CVRs. These milestones, subject to terms and conditions as specified in the contingent value rights agreement, include: (i) $1.00 per share of common stock, payable the first time that in any fiscal year between the time of the first commercial sale of deuruxolitinib in the U.S. and March 31, 2027, net sales of deuruxolitinib is equal to or exceeds $100 million, and (ii) an additional $2.50 per share of common stock, payable the first time that in any period of four consecutive fiscal quarters between the time of the first commercial sale of deuruxolitinib in the U.S. and December 31, 2029, net sales of deuruxolitinib is equal to or exceeds $500 million. There can be no assurance that any payments will be made with respect to the CVRs.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2023. The transaction is subject to the tender of a majority of the outstanding shares of Concert’s common stock, as well as the receipt of applicable regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Following the successful closing of the tender offer, Sun Pharma will acquire all remaining shares of Concert that are not tendered into the tender offer and all shares of Concert’s preferred stock through a second-step merger at the same price of $8.00 per share of common stock, plus one non-tradeable CVR. The merger will be effected as soon as practicable after the closing of the tender offer.
For the nine-month period ending September 2022, Concert reported total revenue of $29 thousand and a net loss of $90.6 million. The R&D expense for that nine-month period was $75.7 million. As of September 30, 2022, Concert had approximately $148.9 million in cash, cash equivalents and investments.
Sun Pharma had net cash of $1.6 billion as of September 30, 2022.
Advisors
Moelis & Company LLC is serving as financial advisor to Sun Pharma, and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is serving as legal advisor. MTS Health Partners, L.P. and Chestnut Partners, Inc. are serving as financial advisors to Concert, and Goodwin Procter LLP is serving as legal advisor. In addition, MTS Securities, LLC (an affiliate of MTS Health Partners, L.P.) provided an opinion to the Board of Directors of Concert regarding the fairness of the offer consideration to be received by the holders of Concert common stock in the transaction, subject to the qualifications and limitations set forth therein.
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