Sun Pharma to buy US-based oncology firm with new skin cancer treatment product for $355 million

This is also Sun Pharma’s second acquisition in less than three months and comes as the company which is India’s largest drugmaker, looks to size up its specialty therapy portfolio.

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This comes at a time when Checkpoint has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for UNLOXCYT, which can be used for treating adults with metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), the second-most common type of skin cancer in the US.

There are around 1.8 million cases of cSCC in the US annually, with about 40,000 cases turning severe, and 15,000 deaths ensuing, the firm had said in its exchange filing.

“Patients with cSCC may soon have access to an important, new treatment option,” said Dilip Shanghvi, Sun Pharma’s chairman said in the statement. “The acquisition further bolsters our innovative portfolio in onco-derm therapy.”

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Meanwhile, James Oliviero, President and Chief Executive Officer of Checkpoint said: “I believe this transaction will provide accelerated access to UNLOXCYT in the United States, Europe and other markets worldwide.”

Sun Pharma will buy outstanding shares of the Waltham, Massachusetts-based Checkpoint for $4.10 each upfront, exercising a non-transferable contingent value of up to $0.70 per share in cash based on certain conditions, according to its exchange filing.

The payment of $4.10 per share is 66% above Checkpoint’s closing price on Friday, Sun Pharma had said.

The transaction is expected to be completed by June 2025, it added.

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The US, which is the world’s largest market for pharmaceuticals, contributed about a third to Sun Pharma’s revenue in the financial year 2023-24.