Cardinal Health has signed a letter of intent with Navidea Biopharmaceuticals to acquire the right to sell Navidea's Lymphoseek radiopharmaceutical in the North American market.
Under the terms of the deal, Cardinal would gain all rights, title, and interest to Lymphoseek for all pending and future oncology diagnostic indications in North America that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), subject to certain limitations. Navidea would be paid $80 million at closing, with future consideration capped at an additional $230 million for annual sales and certain sales-based milestones, according to Navidea.
Cardinal has been Navidea's exclusive U.S. distributor for Lymphoseek for many years. For Navidea, the transaction will allow the company to repay all outstanding debt to healthcare investment firm CRG and accelerate development of its Macrophage Therapeutics product pipeline, as well as its pipeline of diagnostic products focused on rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular disease, said chairman Dr. Michael Goldberg in a statement.
As part of the deal, Cardinal would also license back to the firm a portion of the acquired intellectual property, enabling Navidea to develop, manufacture, market, sell, and distribute new products that do not compete with the current Lymphoseek product. In addition, Navidea would be able to continue to manufacture, market, sell, and distribute Lymphoseek outside of North America, according to the company.
The closing of the deal is subject to due diligence and the negotiation of definitive documents, among other things, Navidea said. It also depends on customary approvals.
