Crealta Spins Struggling Arthritis Drug Into $510M Horizon Payday
Summary
It’s the only FDA-approved drug for treating chronic refractory gout, an orphan disease that affects an estimated 50,000 people in the U.S. Crealta, which has offices in Glendale, WI, and Lake Forest, IL, was formed in August 2013 by private equity firm GTCR.The filing and subsequent sale was a disappointing end for Savient, which won FDA approval for pegloticase in 2010 but ultimately went bankrupt when it couldn’t turn the drug into a commercial success.Yet Savient was bleeding cash; it sold about $34 million worth of the drug between its launch and June 2013, a fraction of the amount it spent on marketing costs alone.Horizon spokesman Geoff Curtis said in an e-mail message that the drug currently sells for about $14,000 per vial, which is more than double the per-vial price at the time of Savient’s 2013 sale.Curtis declined to share Crealta revenue figures, but said Horizon expects the acquisition to increase its net sales by more than $70 million in the first year after the transaction closes.
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