Irish entrepreneur unexpectedly withdraws bid to buy US firm

A fast-growing pharmaceutical company, established by Irishman Gareth Sheridan and closely linked to former presidential candidate Seán Gallagher, has withdrawn from a planned US acquisition.

Florida-based Nutriband, which appointed Mr Gallagher as its president earlier this year, filed documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission last week confirming it has decided not to proceed with a deal for Ohio-headquartered Advanced Health Brands.

The acquisition was announced in May 2017 and involved the Irish-owned group acquiring Advanced and a subsidiary known as TD Therapeutics in exchange for 5,000,000 common shares of Nutriband.

Advanced is a company that has created a portfolio of supplements for wellness and balanced living, as well as medicines to treat diseases.

Perrigo slashes guidance on weakness in prescription business

---

UDG shares down 10% on weakness in contract sales division

---

Irish-founded Nutriband completes $2.25m deal for 4P Therapeutics

---

Mylan says US healthcare market is ‘unsustainable’

---

The company held a number of patents prior to its sale. These were subsequently independently valued at $120.7 million by patent valuation firm Sinorica Valuation.

Nicotine patches

Nutriband was founded by Dubliner Mr Sheridan and listed in the US two years ago. The company has a number of products for cardiovascular disease, inflammatory joint disease, abuse deterrent fentanyl and diabetes in its pipeline, using the same absorption method as nicotine patches.

Mr Sheridan, who was named Ireland’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2014, developed the idea for Nutriband while completing his thesis as a business and management student at Dublin Institute of Technology.

Mr Sheridan could not be reached for comment on the decision to withdraw from the deal for Advanced.

A spokesman for the company said: “Due to the ever evolving nature of the pharma and health tech space, we felt it was best to part ways.”

Nutriband this week completed a deal to acquire 4P Therapeutics, an Atlanta, Georgia-headquartered company that is focused on the research and development of novel drug-delivery technologies and therapeutics, in a $2.25 million deal.

Prescription drugs

Earlier this year, it also announced plans to buy Carmel Biosciences in a $3.8 million (€3.2 million) deal. Also based in Atlanta, Carmel develops prescription drugs and nutraceuticals for cardiovascular, metabolic and central nervous system diseases.

It recently received FDA approval for Prexxartan, the first and only approved oral liquid dosage form of the widely-used blood-pressure drug valsartan in the US.

Nutriband also announced a $90 million distribution agreement with Korean group Best Choice for its products earlier this year.