Knight Therapeutics

Knight Therapeutics Inc. is a Canadian public specialty pharmaceutical company based in Montreal, Quebec that focuses on acquiring or in-licensing innovative pharmaceutical products for the Canadian and select international markets. It is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (symbol GUD), with a market capitalization of $1.02 billion as of August 2019.[1]

Knight Therapeutics Inc.
TypePublic
TSX: GUD
S&P/TSX Composite Component
Founded1995
FounderJonathan Goodman and Marc Beaudet
Headquarters
Montreal, Quebec
,
Canada
Key people
Jonathan Goodman (CEO)
Samira Sakhia (President)
Revenue$6.16 million (2019)

History

In 1995, Jonathan Goodman and Mark Beaudet founded Paladin Labs, the predecessor company to Knight Therapeutics. It launched an IPO in that year at $1.50 per share.[2]

In 2011, Goodman was seriously injured in a cycling accident, forcing him to relinquish the CEO role to Mark Beaudet.[2] The accident caused serious brain damage, although Goodman has almost fully recovered.[3] Also in 2011, Paladin offered to buy Afexa Life Sciences for $57 million, but was outbid by Valeant Pharmaceuticals.[2] However, it succeeded in acquiring Labopharm for $20 million.[4]

In 2014, Endo Pharmaceuticals, an American pharmaceutical company, acquired most of the assets of Paladin Labs for $3 billion, or $151 a share, a 100 times increase from its IPO price.[5] As part of the transaction, Knight Therapeutics was spun-off to the shareholders of Paladin, with the rights to Impavido, a leishmaniasis drug.[6] It was also led by Jonathan Goodman, and was in substantially the same business.

In November 2016, it was rumored that Endo was considering selling Paladin back to Knight Therapeutics, for less than it initially paid for it.[7]

Business

Knight Therapeutics, like Paladin Labs before it, focuses on marketing and licensing drugs from international drug makers for the Canadian market.[3] This involves getting Health Canada approval for new products, and selling them to Canadian customers. Knight is generally not involved in initial drug discovery or development. As of June 2019, the company had over 20 innovative products in its pipeline, including pharmaceuticals, consumer health products, and medical devices.[3] Knight's main product portfolios cover Pain/Gastrointestinal, Ophthalmic, Women's Health and Oncology. Its marketed products are Movantik for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation, Probuphine, a sub-dermal implant for opioid dependence, Impavido for the treatment of leishmaniasis and Burinex for edema associated with congestive heart failure, cirrhosis of the liver and renal disease.[3]

References
  1. "'If Canada was efficient, I wouldn't exist:' The miraculous success of Jonathan Ross Goodman". Financial Post. 2017-07-31. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  2. "Paladin Labs Founder Finds a New Knight". The Montreal Gazette. 2014-04-01.
  3. "Goodman Rallies From Near-Death Bike Spill for Drug Renaissance". Bloomberg.com. 2017-07-31. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  4. "Labopharm shareholders approve $20.5 million acquisition by Paladin Labs". Global News. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  5. "It's early days for Knight Therapeutics, but chemistry is right". The Globe and Mail. 2014-09-04. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
  6. "Can Knight Therapeutics Inc. Repeat the Success of Paladin Labs?". The Motley Fool. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  7. Editorial, Reuters. "Exclusive: Endo considers sale of Paladin Labs to Knight Therapeutics". CA. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
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