Naftifine Hydrochloride

Roche’s $8 billion InterMune acquisition, disclosed a decade ago, is now being handed to a specialty pharmaceutical company. Cayman Islands-based Legacy Pharma is run by Mark Thompson , the former CEO of Concordia, another specialty pharma that had a price-hiking reputation . It put out a short press release last week saying it had completed the acquisition of InterMune and the US IP rights to its idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis medicine Esbriet (pirfenidone) from Roche’s Genentech for undisclosed terms. Legacy said it would “ensure the continued availability and distribution of Esbriet to patients​ ​across the United States.​” Genentech will provide access to the drug “until the completion of the business transfer” and Roche keeps ex-US commercial rights, according to the press release. Esbriet was the “only medicine in the Roche pipeline” that derived from InterMune, and it is available in about 40 countries, a Roche spokesperson told Endpoints News via email. The divestiture of Esbriet wasn’t entirely surprising. Roche confirmed to Endpoints last February that it was looking at offloading Esbriet. “We have strict confidentially [sic] provisions with Roche and cannot say more than what is in the press release. The transaction was funded internally,” Thompson wrote in an email to Endpoints. Sales of Esbriet, which has had generic competition since 2022, sank 56% from 2023 to 2024, Roche said last week. It reeled in $54 million in 2024, according to Roche’s annual report. Boehringer Ingelheim markets the only other approved drug for IPF, which destroys lung capacity and can lead to death for many patients within five years. Multiple biotechs are attempting to create new medicines. Not much is known about Legacy. It’s led by Thompson and chief financial officer Adeel Ahmad, the former CFO of Concordia, which rebranded to Advanz Pharma in 2018. Its president and general manager, Chris Humphrey, also comes from Advanz, according to his LinkedIn profile. Thompson posted on LinkedIn about the InterMune deal late last week, calling it a “Big Day!” A few months ago, Thompson posted to the networking site to say Legacy had acquired a “basket of products” from Sebela Pharmaceuticals, including the antifungal Naftin, to bring the company’s portfolio to 22 prescription products. A year ago, it acquired Allegis Pharmaceuticals and Marnel Pharmaceuticals, Thompson also wrote on LinkedIn. Northern Private Capital helped fund the deal, he added. At the time, it had 40 employees across multiple cities, including Scottsdale, AZ and Bridgetown, Barbados, according to the CEO. In his weekly biopharma market report on Monday, Stifel healthcare managing director Tim Opler said there were a “few things of interest” regarding the deal. “First, Roche has obviously thrown in the towel on its Intermune deal– after paying $8.1 billion for it,” Opler wrote. “Second, the buyer’s CEO, Mark Thompson, has an impressive track record. He previously built Concordia Pharma up from zero to over $3bn in value by purchasing pharmaceutical ‘tail assets.’ Let’s watch what he does this time. If we were the betting type, we would put money on Legacy Pharma to do well.”