Valeant Sells Cancer Business To China’s Sanpower For US$820 Million

In an attempt to reduce its debt, Valeant will sell its cancer vaccine business to Sanpower Group for US$819.9 million in cash.

AsianScientist (Jan. 20, 2017) – Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to sell all of the outstanding equity interests in Dendreon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to the Sanpower Group Co., Ltd., one of the largest privately owned conglomerates in China. Under the terms of the transaction, Valeant will receive cash consideration of US$819.9 million at completion.

Dendreon’s first and only commercialized product is Provenge®, an autologous cellular immunotherapy (vaccine) for prostate cancer treatment approved by the FDA in April 2010.

“With this sale, we are better aligning our product portfolio with Valeant’s new operating strategy by exiting the urological oncology business, which is one of our non-core assets,” said Valeant CEO Mr. Joseph C. Papa. “We are pleased to take this step forward in our divestiture program and are continuing to evaluate transactions to simplify our business and strengthen our balance sheet.”

Valeant will use proceeds from the sale of Dendreon to permanently repay term loan debt under its Senior Secured Credit Facility. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2017, subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals.

On the same day the Dendreon sale was announced, Valeant also disclosed that it is selling its skincare brands—CeraVe, AcneFree, and Ambi—to the L’Oreal group for US$1.3 billion in cash.

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Source: Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc; Photo: Shutterstock.
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