The Italian headquarted pharmaceutical group, Recordati announced an agreement signed with Novartis for the acquisition of Signifor (pasireotide) and Signifor LAR – treatments for Cushing’s disease and acromegaly in adult patients for whom surgery is not an option or has previously failed.
The $390m (€347.29m) deal will also see Recordati acquire worldwide rights to osilodrostat, an investigational drug for the treatment of endogenous Cushing’s syndrome, for which marketing authorization applications have been filed in the European Union and the US.
Upon approval and gaining market access of osilodrostat, Recordati will proceed to make additional payment to Novartis, which has agreed to supply all of the products to the former company for a transitional period.
Osilodrostat is an orally administered steroidogenesis inhibitor of 11Beta-hydroxylase, and could become a new treatment option for patients with Cushing’s syndrome.
Pasireotide, the active substance of Signifor, is an analogue of somatostatin, which is naturally produced by the human body to block the production and release of certain hormones, including adrenocorticotropic.
Signifor is then able to help control the over-production of cortisol and improve the symptoms of Cushing’s disease. The drug recorded sales of $72m in 2018.
According to Recordati, the closing of the transaction is “subject to customary conditions and regulatory clearances” and is expected to take place in few months.