UK women's health firm Theramex sold for around £2.2bn

Theramex, a London, UK-based specialty pharma company focusing on women's health, is changing hands in a deal reportedly valued at around £2.2 billion (€2.6 billion), although financial terms are not being disclosed.

The company is staying in private equity (PE) hands, with Cinven taking control from Carlyle Group and PAI Partners, which bought the company four years ago for an estimated €1.4 billion. Cinven is backing the buyout with a debt package worth approximately €1.5 billion, according to a Bloomberg report.

In a statement, Cinven said Theramex is a "trusted leader" in women's health in four key areas – menopause, osteoporosis, contraception, and fertility – and represents a "compelling investment opportunity."

"Women's health is a structurally growing segment of specialty pharma, with significant populations still undiagnosed and undertreated, particularly in menopause and osteoporosis," said the PE company.

The category is now "attracting increased R&D investment and growing awareness amongst patients and healthcare professionals," added Cinven, creating an opportunity for Theramex with its pan-European reach.

Under Cinven's control, Theramex will benefit from support to expand its geographic presence even further and expand its product portfolio through in-licensing deals, according to the statement.

Theramex sells brands like uterine fibroids therapy Yselty (linzagolix), hormone replacement therapies Evorel and Bijuve, and the Zoely and Seasonique contraceptives. While it does not publish financial figures, analysts have suggested that the company likely makes $500 million or more in annual revenues, roughly twice the level when Teva sold the company's core product portfolio to CVC Capital Partners for approximately $700 million in 2018.

Carlyle Group and PAI Partners said that, under their tenure, Theramex has more than doubled its operating profit, boosted its pipeline, and launched key new products, including Yselty and osteoporosis therapy Eladynos (abaloparatide).

Recent licensing agreements feature a deal with UK-based Viramal for an undisclosed pipeline programme, and another with China's Aiseris Pharma focused on APL-1702, a photodynamic drug-device combination product being developed as a non-surgical treatment for cervical precancerous lesions associated with HPV infections, including cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN).

"With Cinven, we have the right partner for our next chapter, and we share an ambition to become the global leader in women's health," said Theramex's chief executive, Robert Stewart.

"Cinven's deep healthcare expertise, long-term approach, and support for our strategy will help us to accelerate our growth in Europe and internationally and, most importantly, to bring better treatment options to more women."