Merck’s spinoff Organon to acquire Alydia Health for $240m

Merck has entered a definitive agreement in which its intended spinoff Organon will acquire the commercial-stage medical device company Alydia Health for a total of up to $240m.

Alydia Health will receive an upfront payment of $215m and $25m on achieving the milestone.

Before the spinoff of Organon, Alydia will get $50m of the upfront payment while the remaining $165m will be paid by Organon on the closing of the transaction.

Alydia Health focuses on the prevention of maternal morbidity and mortality caused by postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) or abnormal postpartum uterine bleeding.

The transaction is expected to close after Organon has spun off from Merck to become a standalone publicly-traded company. This is expected to take place late in the second quarter of this year.

Organon CEO Kevin Ali said: “The acquisition aligns with Organon’s strategy to become a global leader in women’s health by focusing our product development on her unmet medical needs.

“We believe that Organon’s strong global commercial footprint in reproductive health, in conjunction with Alydia’s rapidly growing commercial capabilities in the US, will help enable growth of the Jada System, including potential expansion into Europe and other developed countries, as well as in the world’s least developed markets where Organon has significant experience creating affordable access.”

The Jada System is a device that can potentially boost normal contraction of the uterus to prevent excessive bleeding after childbirth.

Under an approved investigational device exemption from the US Food and Drug Administration, the system’s safety and effectiveness was assessed in the PEARLE study, a prospective, single-arm clinical trial.

Alydia Health CEO Rob Binney said: “Our goal is to help make childbirth safer for more women.

“With critical gaps in maternal care, we believe this acquisition will potentially accelerate the delivery of the Jada System to more women and communities in need.” Medical Device Network