Sucampo Pharmaceuticals said today it has completed its acquisition of R-Tech Ueno and all remaining outstanding shares of the publicly traded company for ¥32.8 billion ($275 million).
The deal expands the buyer’s pipeline and gives Sucampo greater control over the manufacturing and supply chain for its single marketed product, AMITIZA® (lubiprostone), a chloride channel activator. R-tech Ueno manufactures AMITIZA for Sucampo and commercialization partners that include Mylan, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and Harbin Gloria Pharmaceuticals.
In the U.S., AMITIZA is approved to treat adults with Chronic Idiopathic Constipation (CIC), as well as opioid-induced constipation (OIC) with chronic,noncancer pain. AMITIZA is also approved in the U.S. for irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) in women ages 18 and older.
The acquisition also gives Sucampo several new product candidates across multiple disease areas, including two vascular adhesion protein inhibitors. They “could be of significant value to Sucampo as either a part of our internal pipeline or as candidates for partnering,” the company stated.
“We believe that, through this immediately accretive transaction, we've created value for our shareholders by positioning ourselves for revenue growth in the near-term and laying the groundwork for continued financial performance in the future,” Sucampo CEO Peter Greenleaf said in a statement.
Headquartered in Rockville, MD, Sucampo has operations in Japan, Switzerland and the U.K. Ueno, a co-founder of Sucampo, founded R-Tech in 1989 to carry out drug research.