Endo Sells Back Its Rights to Opioid Drug and Moves to Restructure

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 12, 4:58PM EST · Published Dec 8, 12:20PM EST

Endo Sells Back Its Rights to Opioid Drug and Moves to Restructure — © Thinkstock

Shares of Endo International PLC (NASDAQ: ENDP) saw a handy gain on Thursday after the company announced that it sold back its rights to an opoid pain drug to BioDelivery Sciences International Inc. (NASDAQ: BDSI). The specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but Endo will return Belbuca (buprenorphine) to BDSI without any material effect. However, the firm does expect to restructure some parts of its business, which will have an impact going forward.

Essentially, Endo no longer believes that it requires field sales promotion for its already established portfolio of pain products. As a result, the company also announced that it is eliminating its 375-member U.S. Branded Pain sales field force, consisting of both full-time employees and contract sales representatives.

This will allow the company to focus efforts and resources more fully on its core U.S. Branded assets, including Xiaflex in the approved indications and the cellulite development program. The legacy pain portfolio products, which include Opana ER and Percocet among others, will be managed as mature brands.

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Endo expects to realize cost savings, drive greater efficiency and enhance its operational focus with its newly realigned U.S. Branded segment. The restructuring charges are expected to be $62 million, including a $40 million noncash intangible asset impairment charge. However the restructuring as a whole is expected to provide about $90 million to $100 million in annual run rate pretax gross cost savings in 2017.

Paul Campanelli, president and CEO of Endo, commented:

Since we entered into our licensing and development agreement with BDSI in 2012, the opioid market and Endo’s strategic priorities have evolved. While we continue to believe Belbuca is a differentiated asset, the product no longer aligns with Endo’s U.S. Branded segment strategy and our focus on core assets, including Xiaflex, moving forward. We believe that this path provides our U.S. Branded business with its best opportunity for success going forward. We are extremely grateful for the efforts of our Pain salesforce and all who have supported the Pain business unit and want to acknowledge their dedication, commitment and hard work on behalf of the Company. Additionally, we look forward to working with BDSI on a smooth transition and we wish them future success.

Shares of Endo were up 3% at $15.56 on Thursday, with a consensus analyst price target of $23.58 and a 52-week trading range of $12.56 to $63.63.

BDSI shares were down nearly 6% at $1.60. The consensus price target is $5.50, and the 52-week range is $1.50 to $5.48.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.