Shire sells Oncology Portfolio to Servier

Ahead of its acquisition by Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical, Ireland-domiciled, London-listed and US-focused Shire has completed the sale of its oncology portfolio with $262 million in annual sales to French drugmaker Servier for $2.4 billion.

The deal, announced in April during Takeda’s grab for Shire but according to the French company planned earlier, will allow privately held Servier to establish a direct commercial presence in the US while boosting its presence in the cancer segment in countries where it is already present.

After Takeda made five bids for Shire, starting in late March of this year, the £46 billion transaction due to complete shortly was approved by both companies’ boards in May and given unconditional clearance by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in July.

With the buy, Servier will pick up two marketed products, Oncaspar, a treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and gain non-US rights to Onivyde for pancreatic cancer. It will also take on two development collaborations in the immuno-oncology field.

In the US, Servier’s products will be marketed by the drugmaker’s new subsidiary, Servier Pharmaceuticals, based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company to be headed by David K. Lee,  who previously led Shire’s Global Genetic Diseases and Oncology franchises, will have 80 employees, including some transferring from Shire.

Servier said its US arm aims to develop a strong sales presence in the country based on its existing portfolio while at the same time enriching offerings with close-to-market or already marketed innovative products.

With the acquisition, President Olivier Laureau said the French company is “taking another step toward its strategic goal to become a global player in biopharmaceutical.