InvaGen Pharmaceuticals Inc., a subsidiary of Cipla Ltd., said it has entered into definitive agreements for the proposed acquisition of Avenue Therapeutics, Inc. for total consideration of $215 million.
Avenue Therapeutics is focussed on the development and commercialisation of intravenous (IV) Tramadol.
“Our investment in and proposed acquisition of Avenue establishes our presence in the specialty institutional business in the U.S.,” Umang Vohra, MD and global CEO, Cipla Ltd. said.
“The novel intravenous drug delivery method of Tramadol addresses extremely crucial and hitherto unmet needs in pain management,” he added.
Specialty pipeline
“This investment is keeping with our stated intention to build a speciality pipeline in the U.S. market,” he added.
Lucy Lu, president and CEO, Avenue, said the partnership with InvaGen would lead to acceleration of the Phase 3 clinical development and potential commercialisation of IV Tramadol in the United States.
“IV Tramadol offers a novel mechanism of action among intravenous analgesics and could be an important new therapy that fills a significant gap in pain management,” Ms. Lu said.
