Assertio Shares Gain After Buying Antares' Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment For $44M

Antares Pharma Inc ATRS divested Otrexup (methotrexate) injection to treat rheumatoid arthritis to a subsidiary of Assertio Holdings Inc ASRT for $44 million inclusive of Otrexup WIP and finished inventory. 

• Under the asset purchase agreement terms, Antares will receive an initial payment of $18.0 million at closing plus two additional time-based payments totaling $26.0 million in 2022.
• Otrexup is a drug-device combination single dose once weekly auto-injector. Trailing 12-month revenues of Otrexup were $15.5 million.
• The transaction allows Antares to align its portfolio with urology and endocrinology as it remains focused on Xyosted, Nocdurna, and the anticipated launch of Tlando next year. 
• The pipeline also includes two new potential combination products, ATRS-1901, and ATRS-1902, in endocrinology and urology. 
• The Company says that the divestiture allows Antares to streamline sales and marketing efforts.
• For Assertio, the acquisition will be accretive to adjusted EBITDA in 2022.
• Assertio has raised FY21 sales guidance to over $108 million from more than $103 million.
• It also expects FY21 adjusted EBITDA of over $48 million versus an earlier outlook of over $43 million.
• Price Action: ASRT shares are up 1.48% at $1.37 during the premarket session on the last check Thursday. ATRS shares closed at $3.26 on Wednesday.