Sumitomo Pharma to sell Asian business to Marubeni

Japanese drugmaker Sumitomo Pharma said yesterday that it is divesting its Asian business to major Japanese trading house Marubeni for roughly 72 billion yen ($480 million) in a deal that forms part of its post-Latuda (lurasidone) turnaround efforts.

Sumitomo noted that it has been working on various measures to achieve early business recovery and renewed growth, aiming to transform fiscal 2024 into a turning point for the growth of the company group.

For the time being, sales of the group’s three key products in its North American business, Orgovyx (relugolix), Myfembree (relugolix, estradiol and norethindrone acetate) and Gemtesa (vibegron), continue to support the overall revenue of the group. Under these circumstances, in the discussions aimed at achieving renewed growth for the entire group, the company has decided to execute the share transfer agreement and the Shareholders’ Agreement to strengthen its financial foundation.