AMAG Pharmaceuticals will secure $530 million in cash as the company divests Cord Blood Registry to GI Partners. Focus will now be on pharmaceutical products.
Waltham, Mass.-based AMAG Pharmaceuticals will secure $530 million in cash as the company divests Cord Blood Registry to GI Partners, a private equity investment firm.
Divesting CBR, Waltham said, is an important part of the company’s strategic plan. By shedding itself of Cord Blood Registry, Waltham Chief Executive Officer William Heiden said the company will be able to “focus squarely” on the development of its pharmaceutical products. Heiden added that the company will also continue to look at expanding its portfolio of products through additional product acquisitions or licenses.
But, don’t expect the company to use its $530 million to snap up a new product right off the bat. AMAG said the majority of the money from the sale will be used to pay off the remaining $475 million of principal of its 7.875 percent Senior Notes due 2023.
While AMAG plans to pay down its note, the company is still poised for growth. Ted Myles, AMAG’s chief financial officer, pointed to several milestones the company has recently enjoyed, including back-to-back FDA approvals of the Makena subcutaneous auto-injector and the expanded Feraheme label.
The auto-injector was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in February as a treatment to reduce the risk of preterm birth in women pregnant with one baby and who spontaneously delivered one preterm baby in the past. Initially approved in 2011, revenues from Makena were about $400 million in 2017.
Also in February, the FDA greenlit a new indication for Feraheme to include all eligible adult Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA) patients who have intolerance to oral iron or have had an unsatisfactory response to oral iron. The drug was initially approved in 2009 for the treatment of Iron Deficiency Anemia in adult chronic kidney disease patients.
Additionally, Myles said the launch of Intrarosa, a drug that treats moderate-to-severe dyspareunia and the FDA’s acceptance of the New Drug Application for bremelanotide, are also signs of the company’s “significant and durable future growth.” Bremelanotide is a first-in-class melanocortin 4 receptor agonist designed for the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in premenopausal women. The FDA is expected to make a decision on the therapeutic by March 23, 2019. AMAG’s NDA submission was supported by clinical data from two large double-blind placebo-controlled Phase III studies in which bremelanotide met the pre-specified co-primary efficacy endpoints of improvement in desire and decrease in distress associated with low sexual desire as measured by validated patient-reported outcomes.
“We believe eliminating the high-yield bonds from our capital structure will align our balance sheet with our long-term growth plans and our renewed focus on growing and further diversifying our pharmaceutical business,” Myles said in a statement.
The transaction, which was unanimously approved by the company’s board of directors, is expected to be finalized later this year. AMAG anticipates an update to its 2018 financial guidance following the close of the transaction. Perella Weinberg Partners LP served as financial advisor to AMAG. Goodwin Procter LLP served as legal advisor to AMAG.
